To Help Your Leader
by BeyondTheClouds777
Summary: Snaptrappers are poisonous dragons...and when Hiccup is bit by one and healed, someone gets an idea. A very bad idea: Poison Hiccup with something worse than Snaptrapper venom. Something much harder to cure. Requested by freyathefearless, Guest. Set during "Defenders of Berk."
1. Chapter 1

**NEW STORY! WHOOPEDYDOO! This is a request made by freyathefearless, Guest. Awesome viewer, and I would like to thank said pardon for this idea. Love writing. :) This is my FIRST update on this particular story today, and I really hope you all enjoy it. :) **

Hiccup laid on his bed, tossing his charcoal into the air, catching it when it came down, and repeating. He had airmailed Astrid only five minutes ago asking her to come right away, and he didn't get a reply from her yet, so he figured she was going to.

At that moment, Sharpshot returned with another note from Astrid. Hiccup put his charcoal pencil behind his ear and took the piece of paper out of the dragon's grip, rubbing his head slightly as a "Thank you."

Satisfied, Sharpshot alighted on Hiccup's head and stayed there. Hiccup let him, too. He unrolled the paper and read what Astrid had wrote:

_What in the world, Hiccup? I know you won't tell me, so I probably shouldn't bother asking, but what is this all about? Why be so secret about the whole affair? You _never _airmail me. Don't reply unless you really want to, I'm coming over. Give or take a few minutes. Don't do anything stupid without me. _

_H. _

Hiccup frowned at the note. Why didn't she just trust his judgement? Well, in all honesty Hiccup didn't blame her. He didn't trust his own judgement at times. Still, though. She'd known him really well for a few years now. You would think she'd be a bit more trusting.

Bored, Hiccup flopped back onto his bed and sketched out a quick note to Astrid. On the piece of paper, he wrote out:

_Who knows? You never know with me, Astrid. Just come on over, and I'll explain. It isn't really dangerous, I just think you should hear my opinion before everyone else. And I'm not being secret about the whole thing. It's a private idea I have that, at the moment, I am only willing to share with you. Hurry up, though. I'm waiting. And great ideas are hard to wait on. Or...at least I hope it's one. _

_H. H. III_

Hiccup gave the note to Sharpshot, and he took off out the window to give the note to Astrid. Hiccup continued tossing the charcoal. About five minutes later, Astrid jumped through his window, and he nearly karate-chopped the charcoal in midair.

"Astrid!" Hiccup said. "Little warning next time, please! Even something so small as a knock! Do people knock anymore?" He swung his legs (well, leg and prosthetic. Man, he hated saying that) and stood up in front of Astrid.

She smirked and rolled her eyes. "What_ever_, Mr. Bossy." She stopped smiling and stared at him with her piercing blue eyes. "Why'd you airmail me? What's so urgent?"

"Who said urgent?" Hiccup asked. She raised her hand to punch him on the shoulder, so Hiccup refrained, putting his hands up and closing his eyes to shield himself. "Okay, I have an idea."

Astrid let her hand drop to her side. "An idea?" She frowned. "All this secrecy for an _idea_?" She didn't sound mad, though, and Hiccup knew she wasn't. She liked his ideas, although she probably wouldn't admit it very often. Granted, some of them went up in smoke, but a majority of them survived.

"I wanted to talk to you," Hiccup said.

"It couldn't wait until tomorrow?" said Astrid.

"Waa waa," Hiccup said with fake sympathy. "Go back to bed if you want."

"Oh no you don't!" she said. "Come on, Hiccup! What is it? I'm dying over here!"

"A new version of The Mangler," Hiccup said.

"The Mangler?" Astrid looked torn between smiling and frowning. "Isn't that thing you used to shoot down Toothless all those years ago?"

Toothless looked up from where he was sleeping and then laid back down again. It was a subject he wasn't exactly accustomed to. Well, neither was Hiccup.

"Yeah," Hiccup said. "Well, I'm working on blueprints for a redesign of it."

"A redesign?" She sounded excited. "Whatcha gonna change?"

"I was thinking," Hiccup said, "since we do have dragon raids occasionally, and if Alvin somehow learns how to train dragons, we could use the new version to shoot them down without hurting them."

"Hey, yeah!" said Astrid. "That really is brilliant, Hiccup."

"But I didn't want Snotlout and the twins to learn about it," Hiccup said, "because...well...you know how they are. Not too bright...rather on the dangerous side...you know."

Astrid nodded. "Yup," she said. "So, when are you going to start designing it?"

"I've already worked up a blueprint." Hiccup reached over and pulled his notebook off the desk and flipped to a page titled "The Mangler B, #1". He marked all his inventions with numbers depending on the number of tries. And since "The Mangler B, #1" was a different design with a different purpose altogether, he named it with a B between "The Mangler" and the number.

"It's just a prototype," Hiccup said. "Probably won't work too well. Like my other prototypes." He flipped back a few pages and showed Astrid his last version of "The Mangler." It was marked "The Mangler A, #71." Hiccup had tried seventy one times on that invention, and now he was throwing it away.

All in a days work.

"Wow," said Astrid. "You don't fool around too much, do you?"

"'Course I do!" Hiccup said. He flipped even further back, and instantly Astrid jumped back a step.

"NO!" she shouted. "WHAT IS THAT!?"

"You don't want to know," Hiccup said simply, shutting the notebook. She now approached him as if the notebook were made of fire.

"Can't unsee _that_," said Astrid, shuddering.

Hiccup shook his head with a half-smile. "No, you can't," he said. "So...you want to come with me to the forge and start work on it?"

"Sure!" said Astrid.

She and him turned and jumped out the window, since it was faster than the front door. Then, they headed to the forge, chatting the whole way about different ideas for the new "The Mangler B, #1."

"How many tries do you think it will take?" Astrid asked.

"No idea," said Hiccup. "Might as well get a start on it.

"The Mangler B, #1":

"Okay, here's the connection cable," said Astrid.

"Thanks," said Hiccup. "Okay, here's the trigger, let's just pull it and..."

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM.

"Well, that didn't work," said Hiccup. "Let's try that again."

"The Mangler B, #2":

"Okay, _this _time," said Hiccup, "let's change the location of the cable, put the trigger here, initiate the bola here-"

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM.

"Back to the drawing board," said Astrid.

"The Mangler B, #57":

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM.

"Agh, maybe we should just call it a night," said Hiccup, setting his hammer down. "At least we know for sure which ideas do and don't work."

"We failed," said Astrid.

"We didn't _fail_," said Hiccup. "We simply discovered fifty seven ways that don't work."

Astrid smirked. "Fine," she said. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see ya," said Hiccup.

Then, they heard the war horn blow.


	2. Chapter 2

**This is my FIRST update today on this particular story. Just so everyone knows, this is set during "Defenders of Berk." In an early summary, it said that it was set between "How To Train Your Dragon" and "Riders of Berk", but please forget you ever read that. It is set during "Defenders of Berk." Okay, anyways, shout-outs: **

**silverwolvesarecool: I hope it's interesting enough to be good. Sorry about all the suspense. I happen to do that. *shrugs* I don't know why. **

**AnimeAngel: And the cliffies continue. Just when you think the chapter's gonna end good, BOOM, cliffhanger. :) **

**AmaraRae: :) **

**Guest (#1): Like Hiccup said, "You don't want to know." **

**freyathefearless: Hmmm...that is a great riddle. I'm here thinking about it, and I'm just like "What?" I want to say a phone, but that has more than three numbers. Another part of me wants to say a dictionary, but I don't know...confusing. :) I give up! And I'm glad you're liking the story so far. You did request it, so yeah. Glad you like it. :) **

**Guest (#2): AHAHAHAHAHA! I laughed at that and people in my family are staring at me like "Hey sis are you okay?" And I'm just like "NOOOOOOOOO! I'M NOT ALRIGHT! NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE! COFFFFFEEEEE! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY! Although I honestly prefer ice coffees. Mmmmmm...have a free virtual cup of extra espresso coffee! (I probably shouldn't, but yeah XD!). *dies* *comes back* I AM IMMORTAL QUEEN CLIFFIE! :D **

**silver lightning: HAHAHAHAHAHA!**

**Wanli8970: Not sure yet. I'm pretty sure she'll probably threaten Hiccup with a fireball, or something, and then run off and hide. Is she more a character who hides, or fights? **

**Guest (#3): I haven't seen the movie yet. Is it good? **

**Silver Electricity: AAAAAAAH! COFFFEEEEEEE! I LOOOOVVVVEE COFFEE! I'm going to write a one-shot sometime where Ruffnut and Tuffnut discover Coffee. It's not going to be pretty...XD! **

"DRAGON ATTACK!"

As soon as the words were shouted, Hiccup and Astrid knew something was wrong, they raced out of the forge...and crashed into Fishlegs.

"Hiccup!" Fishlegs shouted. "What's going on!?"

"Wild dragon attack!" said Hiccup as if it were as easy as saying _Pass the salt_. "This never happens!"

"Well, it's happening right now!" Snotlout ran behind Fishlegs as he shouted.

"What kind of dragons are we up against here, Fishlegs?" Hiccup questioned.

"Zipplebacks," Fishlegs counted off one finger, "Gronckles, Nadders, a few Nightmares, and...there's this one I can't identify."

"Okay," said Hiccup. "Snotlout, get the twins. Tell them to go for the Zipplebacks. You yourself go for the Nightmares."

"Got it," said Snotlout, and ran off.

"Astrid, you take the Nadders," said Hiccup.

"Okay," said Astrid, turning and bolting.

"Fishlegs, you take the Gronckles," said Hiccup.

"Aaand...what are you going to take?" Fishlegs asked, just because he was concerned, and also because he didn't want to be the one to take it if what he thought was correct.

"The unidentified one," said Hiccup.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Fishlegs asked.

"Nope," said Hiccup. Before Fishlegs could say another thing, Hiccup turned and ran in the other direction. He cupped his hands around his mouth, and performed the Night Fury call. Two seconds counting later, Toothless jumped in front of him, and Hiccup mounted.

"Let's go, bud," Hiccup said.

Toothless was soon airborne.

Astrid did a good job at sending the Nadders running. Or, flying, in this case. There were only three of them; no big deal. Stormfly sent them heading towards Thor's Beach, and then off of Berk.

Snotlout did the same thing with the Nightmares, only there were six of them. They were a bit more stubborn, and didn't leave as easily. They surrounded Hookfang and his rider, ready to blast them, when they suddenly turned and flew in the other direction.

"Huh," said Snotlout. "Told you we were too awesome for their taste!"

"It wasn't you!" Astrid shouted as she flew over Hookfang and Snotlout. "Duck!"

Snotlout just barely had enough time to steer Hookfang out of the way before a single dragon blarred over them.

"Whoa!" shouted Snotlout. "WHAT was THAT!?"

The dragon was followed by Hiccup and Toothless, Toothless performing his trademark Night Fury screech.

"Hiccup, be careful!" shouted Astrid.

"You know me!" he replied.

That wasn't helping at all.

Fishlegs had already chased the Gronckles off with no problem. Just another instant later, the twins arrived with the same results, only the only reason the Zipplebacks were gone was because Astrid and Snotlout had butted in to help.

"Only one dragon left," said Astrid. "And that's the-"

"SNAPTRAPPER!" shouted a voice from above. "IT'S A SNAPTRAPPER!"

The riders looked above them to see Toothless barrel rolling away from the dragon that was now chasing them. Hiccup was shouting to them. "Snaptrapper!" he shouted. "HELP!"

"Snaptrapper!?" shouted Tuffnut. "That's horrible!"

"You don't actually know what a Snaptrapper is, do you?" said Astrid.

"Not even slightly," said Tuffnut.

"Four heads, very poisonous," said Astrid. "Come on!"

They turned and followed the Snaptrapper.

"Aww, come on!" Hiccup shouted in annoyance once he realized the Snaptrapper was gaining. "Could we talk about this?"

The Snaptrapper fired at them. Toothless dodged just in time.

"Maybe this weekend?" Hiccup asked. "Over lunch?"

The Snaptrapper fired again, this time succeeding in lighting Toothless' prosthetic tailfin on fire.

"Oh good grief," Hiccup groaned. "Alright, Mr. Firespit. Have it your way. Aaaaaahhhhh!"

Toothless and Hiccup crash landed on Raven Point, tumbling in the deep snow that covered the ground for a few minutes before finally coming to a stop. The Snaptrapper followed them down, landing in front of Hiccup and Toothless.

"Hiccup!" Astrid shouted from above.

Hiccup stood up, the snow reaching up to his calf. More snow was falling in a rapid session, only adding to the drama. The Snaptrapper growled and advanced.

"Oh snap...trapper," Hiccup mumbled.

Mr. Firespit, as Hiccup so generously called him, advanced. Toothless stood up growling, standing behind Hiccup in a protective fashion. He unsheathed his teeth and barred them, almost as if challenging the dragon.

Mr. Firespit...or...the four heads that made up Mr. Firespit, each hissed. Hiccup took a step back, leaning up against Toothless for reassurance.

Then, the heads attacked all at once. Hiccup jumped to the side, only to get batted away by one of the Snaptrapper's tails. It flung him against a tree, where he crumpled down, just barely holding onto consciousness.

Toothless roared in fury and attacked. Hiccup stood up and raced forward, thinking about what he was about to do. He would try to train it. And if that didn't work...

The other dragons landed, their riders dismounting and rushing forward. Toothless got off the Snaptrapper and let the other dragons take it while he himself ran over to make sure Hiccup was okay.

"Yeah, I'm okay, buddy, thanks," said Hiccup. "Let's go help the others."

They raced forward, and Toothless fired at the Snaptrapper. Mr. Firespit turned all of his four heads and hissed. One head fired at Toothless and Hiccup, the other heads keeping the other riders and dragons back.

"Hiccup!" shouted Snotlout. "Can you do that thing where you touch its nose and feed it grass!?"

"I could, if nose wasn't plural!" Hiccup shouted in response, narrowly avoiding one of the Snaptrapper heads.

"This thing is awesome!" Tuffnut exclaimed. "I want one!"

"Yeah, me too!" Ruffnut agreed.

"Guys, NOT HELPING!" shouted Hiccup.

Mr. Firespit was having enough. It turned to the closest person: Astrid. Then, it bared its fangs, and sped towards her.

"Astrid!" Hiccup shouted.

At the very last minute, Hiccup ran forward, and shoved Astrid out of the way. She fell face forward into the snow, unharmed. Hiccup, however, wasn't as lucky. The Snaptrapper bit him right on his waist, sinking its fangs into his skin. Hiccup screamed as the dragon released him, sending him falling back into the snow.

Then, satisfied with that, the Snaptrapper turned, spread its wings, and flew in the opposite direction.

Hiccup didn't move.


	3. Chapter 3

**This is my SECOND update today. I am really enjoying writing this story, and I hope you enjoy reading it. The cliffhangers are a bit much, I suppose, but hey. An author's gotta do what an author's gotta do. Keeps the readers coming back. :) Shout-outs: **

**Wanli8970: Thanks for that bit of information! I'm getting quite a few requests for Seaworthy, so who knows? I sure don't. :) I'm pretty certain that "Snowed In" will be next, though, since it has the most votes so far, and is way ahead of everything else, so yup. Pretty sure that one's next. :) **

**HiccupAstrid: I have dialed in your vote! :) Yes, I do have a poll. :) **

**silverwolvesarecool: Well...I really wasn't expecting that reaction, but okay. :) Hiccup, don't die. End of story.**

**Guest (#1): Snaptrappers are cool. :) **

**Jesusfreak: HAHAHA! I laughed at those, too. I hoped you guys would like it, and I guess at least one of you did! :) Thanks for the review! **

**Omegamansam17: Thank you for reviewing! :) **

Panic.

"Hiccup!" Astrid shouted. She ran forward and collapsed into the snow in front of him. She grabbed his shoulder and turned him over harshly. She had seen what the Snaptrapper had done to him, and it scared her. She remembered how Snaptrappers were deadly poisonous...

"Uhh," Hiccup moaned, wrapping his arms around his stomach, squeezing his eyes shut even tighter than before. Astrid pried his hands away with a bit of difficulty and then saw the rip on the front and back of his shirt from where the Snaptrapper had bitten him.

"What happened!?" the other dragon riders chorused, running around and standing in a circle around Astrid and Hiccup.

"The Snaptrapper bit him!" Astrid shouted in alarm.

"Oh no," said Fishlegs. "That's not good. Attack level ten, speed level four, armor level four, firepower level six, shot limit four, jaw strength twenty eight...seven each head...and stealth level sixty, fifteen each head. As for the poison..." he hesitated. "Poison level eighteen."

"EIGHTEEN!?" they all shouted at once. Astrid's Nadder, Stormfly, had poison level sixteen, and that was already deadly enough. But eighteen...?

"Eighteen of what?" Hiccup asked. "What about poison...?"

"Nevermind," said Astrid. "Hiccup, how many fingers do you see?" She held up two fingers right in front of his face.

"Six? Eight?" Hiccup guessed. "Eight_teen_?"

"Let me try!" Snotlout shoved his way through. "How many fingers do you see?" He held up five.

"Twenty," Hiccup said. "No no no, wait...twenty five? No, thirty. I'm right, right?"

"Wrong," said Snotlout.

"Drat," Hiccup said.

"This is bad!" Fishlegs shouted.

"Thank you, Mr. Obvious," said Snotlout. "We _love _your company."

"This is not the time, guys!" Astrid shouted.

The dragons were running around them in a frantic panic, Toothless being the most worried and terrified. His rider had been bit by a Snaptrapper, for goodness sake! How did anyone expect him to act?

"Come on, we have to get back to the village," said Astrid. She grabbed Hiccup's arms and pulled him to his feet. Instantly, his knees buckled, and he would have face planted in the snow hadn't Astrid held him upright.

"Stormfly!" Astrid whistled. Stormfly squawked and glided over, landing in front of Hiccup and Astrid. Astrid mounted and pulled Hiccup on in front of her, holding onto his shoulders, not wanting to make contact with his waste.

"Head back to the plaza!" Astrid ordered. "Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, you go and get Stoick. Fishlegs, you go get the Book of Dragons, see what we can learn from the Snaptrapper. I'm taking Hiccup to Gothi's."

"For what?" Hiccup questioned.

"Do you know what happened?" Astrid asked.

"The Snaptrapper bit...oh," he said. "Snaptrappers are venomous...and it bit me...and-"

Astrid nodded and cut him off there. She really didn't need him to continue. She got the point far better than she actually wanted to. "Let's go," she urged. Stormfly took to the air, and headed back towards Berk.

About halfway there, Hiccup lost consciousness. Really, though, Astrid had expected it. Venom level eighteen? She had most certainly expected it. But that didn't mean she wasn't panicking, though.

The only reason this had happened to Hiccup was because he had been protecting Astrid. The Snaptrapper had come straight at her, and she hadn't even noticed it until she heard Hiccup scream her name and felt him push her away. She almost got mad at him, before she realized what he had done. His scream still rang in her ears; fresh in her mind. She would never really forget it.

Just like she would never forget the image in her mind; the dragon Hiccup so generously called "Mr. Firespit" sinking its fangs into the young dragon trainer's side. All because Astrid hadn't been looking at where she was fighting. Hiccup had always been telling her that; look where you fight. But had she listened? No, not really.

"Eighteen of what?" Hiccup mumbled.

"Poison level eighteen, Hiccup," said Astrid. "Poison level eighteen."

"Poison from what?" he asked.

"Snaptrapper," said Astrid.

"Okay," said Hiccup. He paused. "Eighteen of what?" he asked.

"Poison level eighteen," Astrid replied.

"Poison from-" Hiccup started.

"Snaptrapper!" Astrid cut him off.

"Oh, okay," he said, nodding. Pause. "Eighteen of-"

"Poison level eighteen, poison from the Snaptrapper," Astrid said.

"How did you know?" Hiccup asked.

"You've been repeating yourself," Astrid answered.

"Oh...really?" he asked. Five second pause. "I feel like I've been repeating myself."

"Yeah," said Astrid.

Pause. "I feel like I've been repeating myself."

"Hiccup..." She knew it was the poison. She felt so bad for him. If only he hadn't shoved her out of the way. Of course, by the angle the Snaptrapper was coming at her in, it would have bitten her neck, probably killing her instantly. But since Hiccup jumped in at a rather awkward moment, it just caught his waist. Nonetheless, the injury was bad, and the poison was deadly.

"Hey, you still with me?" Astrid asked, shaking Hiccup only slightly to make sure he hadn't fallen back into an oblivion.

"What?" Hiccup mumbled. "Oh, yeah. Yeah."

"You okay?" asked Astrid.

Hiccup shook his head. "Everything's spinning..." he said. "And there's four of everything...no, three...no, seven...ugh."

"Don't worry," said Astrid. "Gothi's an expert. She'll know exactly what the cure for this poison is." Although she said it with confidence, she was really just stating what she hoped. She hoped Gothi would know the cure. She hoped there _was _a cure. She hoped for so many different things it was almost ridiculous.

"You sure?" said Hiccup. "'Cause I really _don't_ want to die...Toothless wouldn't be able to fly if that happened."

"It won't," said Astrid. Also just stating another thing she hoped. She still couldn't get over it, though. Hiccup was worried about everyone but himself. It was really amazing and a bit...strange, to the other Berkians. They weren't really used to seeing stuff such as that.

It had only been about two months since the battle against the Red Death. There had been that thirty second time period when the massive dragon was down, when the Berkians were certain that their heir had been killed. Astrid wasn't ready to re-live that. She would _never _be ready to re-live that.

"Where's Berk?" Hiccup questioned. "We've been flying for hours."

"We've been flying for three minutes," said Astrid.

"Oh," said Hiccup. "Useless poison."

"There's Berk!" Astrid shouted.

"Where's Berk?" Hiccup asked. Then he passed out again.

Astrid flew straight for Gothi's and landed on the platform. She could hear roars and growls come from below it. Toothless had arrived as well.

As she took Hiccup inside, she held her breath for what was to come.


	4. Chapter 4

**This is my THIRD update today. I should be doing at least two more today. I'm loving this story. :) Anyways, shout-outs: **

**silverwolvesarecool: Thanks for the review! Glad you liked that last chapter! :) **

**xFaerieValkyriex: Nah, I laughed a bit at that, too. :)**

**freyathefearless: Aaah, a bookkeeper! I should have figured that one out! :) Glad you are still approving of this story! It gets very interesting with a plot twist in a little while...OOPS was that out loud? :) **

**Omegaman17: Thank you! :) **

**Jesusfreak: Ah, yes! SNAPTRAPPER IN SEASON THREE! THEY SHOULD DO THAT, SERIOUSLY! I WANT TO SEE A LIVE SNAPTRAPPER IN AAAACCCTTTTIIIIOOOONNN! The only time they ever mention one is in "Book of Dragons." *shrugs* They need to have an episode surrounding the Snaptrapper. It's really an awesome dragon. :) **

**Wanli8970: Aha! Flara's godfather, okay! I'll remember that when I write "Seaworthy." :) THANKS! **

Snotlout and the twins looked for Stoick. They were freaking out, in all honesty, but none of them showed it. Once they spotted Stoick, they headed down.

As soon as the dragons landed, the three dragon riders jumped off and ran towards him.

"Stoick!" shouted Snotlout. He, Ruffnut and Tuffnut stopped in front of him. "There was this four headed dragon!"

"With big...ninja talons!" Tuffnut shouted.

"Yeah, exactly," said Snotlout. "And we were fighting it, and then there were four of them, because its neck split into four, and its tail was like that too!"

"Yeah, and Hiccup crashed on Toothless because the tailfin decided to try out for a bonfire..."

"And then the Snaptrapper went _SWOOSH _and knocked him off his feet!"

"Yes! And then we attacked the Snaptrapper, and Hiccup decided to help us, and Toothless attacked it!"

"Yeah!" said Ruffnut. "And then Hiccup was all like-" She broke off into a Hiccup imitation, "'Catch me if you can, Sir Firespit.'"

"And then the Snaptrapper was all like 'Gooooo away'..."

"And then it went for Astrid, and Hiccup decided, 'I'm gonna do somethin' crazy!' Well it wasn't crazy, it was more ignorant. But he saved Astrid's life."

"Yeah, and then he shoved her, and jumped-"

"And then the Snaptrapper came and attacked, and we fell in the snow, and then we freaked out like 'WHAT!?'"

"And then the Snaptrapper flew off, and we panicked, and Hiccup saw eighteen fingers instead of two-"

"And then he saw twenty instead of five!"

"Because the poison was level eighteen!"

"Yeah, and then we came back to get you because-"

"IT'S BAD!" They all shouted those two words in perfect unison.

"One at a time!" Stoick shouted. "Tell me what happened!"

"It got Hiccup!" said Snotlout. "Good."

"On his side!" said Ruffnut.

"Yeah," said Tuffnut. "It was kind of cool." Everyone glared at him. "But then I realized how serious it was and then of course I was as worried as ever," he quickly added.

"Where is he!?" Stoick demanded.

"Astrid took him to Gothi's," said Snotlout.

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Stoick turned, mounted Thornado, and then headed off. The others looked at each other for a split second before they did the same.

...

Astrid paced back and forth in front of Gothi's hut with worry and concern. Why had Hiccup saved her? Why hadn't he just let the Snaptrapper bite her? Why did he have to be so...so..._Hiccup? _

After she had taken him in, Gothi had shooed her out. At first, she refused, and then realized it would have been easier for Gothi if she waited outside, so then she did, although she wanted to do anything but.

Toothless was roaring frantically from below, demanding to know what in the world was going on, but she didn't want to leave even to comfort the dragon. She wanted to know if Gothi could cure the poison. She wanted to know if Hiccup would be alright.

How had she let it come to this? She just didn't see how she had let all of it happen. She had been sure that the Red Death was the worst danger they had ever faced...and she guessed she was wrong. So many other things had happened since then.

Stoick and the others arrived shortly after, followed by Fishlegs, who was reading the Book of Dragons, muttering different things under his breath as he went. Since the twins and Snotlout didn't exactly give Stoick any useful information about how and what happened, Astrid recounted it to him, although she didn't want to talk about it. Stoick was Hiccup's father. He had the right to know what had happened.

She was ashamed with herself. If only she had turned around. If only she had actually been careful. That was her flaw. She wasn't careful. She would just go charging into battle without hardly even thinking about it.

And now Hiccup got hurt because of it.

He had always told her to be careful, but she had never really listened. She just thought he was being overprotective; over worried; too concerned. But really, he had just been trying to keep her and all the other members of the academy safe.

A while later, Gothi opened the door and allowed them to come in. Hiccup was lying pale and unconscious on one of the sick beds, his hands folded across his stomach. Before any of them could ask any questions, she started sketching something out with her staff.

Fishlegs translated, not because he wanted to, but because he was the only one there who was able to translate.

"She says that she gave him the Snaptrapper venom antidote," he read. "She says he is lucky, since she only had one portion of it left. She says the place the Snaptrapper bit will heal in a few weeks. Shouldn't be too much of a problem."

"Why is he still unconscious?" Astrid questioned.

Gothi nodded and wrote more out with her staff.

"She says the cure takes a few hours," said Fishlegs. "He should be out probably until tomorrow morning, or possibly afternoon. Just make sure he doesn't do anything too strenuous."

Astrid was relieved, as well as everyone else. A few minutes later, Stoick took Hiccup back to their house while the other youths went off to their houses, since it really was rather late in the evening.

Astrid mounted Stormfly and headed off to her house, although she knew sleep wouldn't come easy. Her mind kept wandering back to the image of Hiccup; the memory of him shoving her out of the way, saving her life. She would never really truly be over it, she knew. She would always be filled with guilt about it.

She was unaware of Fishlegs following her until he spoke up.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked.

Astrid jumped slightly before answering. "Yeah, fine," she lied.

"We are lucky, you know," said Fishlegs. "According to the Book of Dragons, the cure for Snaptrapper venom is very, very hard to come by. Very rare. And the poison works in a matter of hours. Could you only imagine if Gothi didn't have the antidote?"

"Yes yes, thank you, Fishlegs," said Astrid. "Please, I really don't want to think or talk about it. We'll see you tomorrow."

Fishlegs nodded, knowing Astrid really didn't want to talk about it, and then headed off to his own home.

At least she knew Gothi had cured the poison. They were lucky she had some; the cure was rare, supposedly, according to what Fishlegs had read in the Book of Dragons. She would see Hiccup tomorrow for sure, tell her how sorry she was, since it really was her fault in her mind.

She went home, and fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**This is my FOURTH update today, and I hope you're enjoying reading it as much as I am enjoying writing it. :) Free virtual hot cocoa to you all! Shout-outs: **

**Wanli8970: Yeah. I'm going to have a good time writing "Seaworthy." I'm excited about it. :) **

**xFaerieValkyriex: Yeah. GET SOME MORE ANTIDOTE, YOU WEIRDOS! XD! And I don't know if there will be a Snaptrapper in season three or not. I was saying that I _hoped _there would be a Snaptrapper in season three. How awesome would that be if there were? My awesome meter would peak. :D **

**silverwolvesarecool: YAY! Update soon! :) **

**midnightsky0612: GAH, HICCUP! **

**AnimeAngel: Oooh, hot cocoa! I love hot cocoa! *takes one, supplies you and myself with virtual chocolate cookies to go with it* I love this story, and I'm glad you seem to, too! :) I know what you mean about the temperature, though. Ugh. Whacky temperature. XD! **

Hiccup woke up at his house.

Wait...at his house?

He sat up and looked around. Toothless was sitting beside the bed, purring when he realized Hiccup was awake. He nuzzled Hiccup and licked him.

"Hey, buddy," said Hiccup. "How did I get here?"

Toothless didn't answer. Instead, he bounded around the room, knocking over different objects and tables.

"Ahh, nevermind," said Hiccup, facepalming. He swung his legs (leg, really) over the side of the bed and made sure he still had his right one.

"At least I didn't lose _another _one," he said. Toothless nuzzled him. He wondered what had happened, really. The last thing he remembered was passing out..and that was it.

"What happened, bud?" he asked his dragon, not really expecting an answer. Toothless didn't offer one. Hiccup stood up, patted his dragon on the head, and then walked down the stairs, Toothless in tow.

The house was quiet, really. Hiccup found himself gazing around at the wooden walls, searching for something that would tell him what had happened after he had lost consciousness, but he found nothing.

Desperate for answers, he decided to meet up with the others at the academy. He knew they would be there, just because they always were. He walked outside, mounted Toothless, and then the two of them were off.

They landed in front of the academy, and Hiccup dismounted before walking inside. The other riders were already there with their dragons, although none of them seemed to notice their leader had arrived.

"Top of the morning, class!" Hiccup called.

They instantly turned around and shouted his name in unison. Then, they raced over and stopped in front of him.

"How are you doing?" Astrid asked.

"Fine, why?" Hiccup answered and asked.

"We were pretty worried about you," said Fishlegs.

"Pfft, they were," said Snotlout. "_I _knew you would be alright."

"Uh-huh, sure," said Hiccup. He knew it wasn't true, but he decided to let it go. It didn't matter. "So, what happened, exactly? I remember, but in a way I don't."

"Makes sense," said Astrid. "Snaptrapper venom is deadly."

"But you lived, which is good," said Fishlegs. "Gothi just had barely enough of the antidote to cure you. Which is lucky, really, since it's a rare cure."

"Yep," said Hiccup. "So I take it all went well?"

"Well, you're here, aren't you?" said Snotlout.

"I'll take that as a yes," said Hiccup. "So...you guys want to do some training?"

"Thought you'd never ask," said Tuffnut. "We are going to try a new thing called 'Death by Fire.' It's where you die...by _fire_."

"No," said Hiccup. "We're going to do some good dragon bad dragon drills, and work on some of the dragon calls. Ruffnut and Tuffnut, you guys are going to be the bad dragon."

"Perfect!" said Tuffnut. "Wait...what are we doing?"

"Oookay, scratch that," said Hiccup. "Astrid, you are going to be the bad dragon."

Astrid nodded. "You guys have thirty seconds."

She turned around and started counting. The others mounted their dragons, and headed off, out of the academy, scattering in different directions, hiding at different locations.

Astrid turned around after the mandatory thirty seconds and then mounted her dragon. She took off, searching for the others.

Fishlegs was the first person out. She spun over him, swinging upside down, and tapping his helmet.

"Out!" she called, and then continued.

The twins were next, since their idea of "hiding" was standing in plain sight. Astrid moved over and tagged both of them with a quick "Out and out" before heading off to find her next victim.

She found Hiccup next. Or, actually, he found her. He headed straight towards her, pulling up just before Toothless and Stormfly collided.

"Oh no you don't!" Astrid called.

"Do what?" said Hiccup. "This?"

He spun over her, Toothless barrel rolling with perfection. Then, the Night Fury sped off in the opposite direction. Astrid turned Stormfly around and followed him.

"Give it up, Dragon Boy!" she called.

"Never!" said Hiccup. He laughed. "You'll never take me alive!"

She followed him until they came to a tunnel carved in the side of a mountain. Hiccup steered Toothless into it, and then headed forward. Astrid and Stormfly followed closely. When he was certain Astrid wasn't looking, he turned to the side and had Toothless hide in an overhang. Astrid passed them right by.

"She's not going to be too _pleased _with this, is she?" Hiccup said to Toothless. Toothless grunted in agreement.

Astrid headed out the other side of the mountain. No sign of Hiccup or Toothless.

"Augh," she said. Then, she saw Snotlout. She headed over, and tagged him.

"Out!" she said.

"Hey, no fair!" said Snotlout angrily.

Toothless flew in from behind them.

"Another win?" Hiccup asked.

"Yep," said Astrid. "You and Toothless hold the record."

Hiccup nodded. "Should we get on with the dragon calls?" he asked.

"Couldn't agree with you more," said Astrid.

They met up with the others, and then headed off to Dragon Island to practice their calls.

...

"Snaptrapper?" Gobber asked.

"Yes, Gobber," said Stoick. "A Snaptrapper."

"Hiccup's lucky," said Gobber. "Snaptrapper poison can easily kill a man, if the cure isn't administered by a few hours."

"Exactly," said Stoick. "What was a _Snaptrapper _doing on Berk? I haven't seen one come that close to the village in years. Why would it suddenly come?"

"Maybe it noticed a bunch of other dragons on Berk and decided to move in," said Gobber.

"It wasn't trying to _move in, _Gobber," said Stoick. "According to Astrid, it attacked them. It would have killed her if Hiccup hadn't pushed her."

"He's brave, that lad," said Gobber. "Selfless. Stubborn. A lot like you, Stoick. You can tell he's your son. Except for all his crazy schemes. Those are completely his own."

"I want to have a search party go out and see if the Snaptrapper is still here," said Stoick. "Gothi used the last of her cure on Hiccup. We can't risk someone else getting poisoned by that dragon."

"You have a point," said Gobber. "Who were you hoping would go out?"

"Not any of the youths," said Stoick. "It's too dangerous. You saw what that dragon did to Hiccup."

"No, I didn't," said Gobber.

"Well, you heard what the dragon did to him at least," said Stoick. "We have to send different people out."

"What are we going to do if the Snaptrapper's still on Berk, Stoick?" Gobber questioned.

"Get rid of it," said Stoick. "I don't know how, but we will. Ask Hiccup for techniques on getting dragons to leave an island. I'm sure he knows of a few. And if he doesn't already have some, I trust he can think some up in a few days."

"He's a smart boy, that one," said Gobber. "He knows how to use his mind."

"I just don't want him to risk getting poisoned again," said Stoick. "It's dangerous, especially for someone his age. He's only sixteen."

"I'll make sure he doesn't go out to search for the Snaptrapper," said Gobber. "I'll make sure they don't even know about it until after we capture it. If it's here at all, that is."

"Thank you," said Stoick.

They were unaware of someone watching them in the corner of the Great Hall, listening in on their conversation. Said pardon was thinking up a plan. A perfect plan. One that would take Hiccup out of the picture, and following him, all of the dragons.

He left to get a start on it.


	6. Chapter 6

**This is my FIFTH update today. Welcome to the cliffhangers. :) Anyways, shout-outs: **

**Wanli8970: You shall see in this chapter (who devised the plan. Flara will come in "Seaworthy"). Thanks for reviewing! **

**FatherSonLover: Thanks for your review, I dialed your vote (Seaworthy) in. Glad you like it! I love Fatherly!Stoick. :) **

**silverwolvesarecool: You shall see! Maybe it's Mildew, maybe it's not. We will not know...until this chapter. OOPS. SPOILERS! **

**midnightsky0612: BAD FEELING 1.0.1! **

**xion000: THANK YOU! That review just made my day! I love updating! It's fun to see how my reviewers react to the different chapters. :) **

**AnimeAngel: Ten virtual cookies? You're on! :) And Sparkglider is perfectly okay with fish. Thank you! Here's some fish for you (if you like fish) and Aquaria! :) **

**Jesusfreak: I had so much fun writing that scene! I love seeing the twins and Snotlout try to be serious about something, because usually it doesn't work too well. XD! **

"A Snaptrapper call?"

"Precisely," said Hiccup, answering Astrid's question. "I just need to figure out how to perform it. It could be useful eventually."

"Yeah," said Snotlout. "If you have a death wish."

"Give me a little while," said Hiccup. "I'm going to go work on 'The Mangler B, #58' a little bit. I guess I'll see you guys later on. Meet at the Great Hall?"

"Sure," said Astrid. "Good luck on 'The Mangler B, #58', by the way. Try not to blow anything up again."

"Okay, I'll make a note of that," said Hiccup. "See you guys later!" He mounted Toothless, and then headed off to the forge.

The rest of the riders and dragons stood in the village plaza, staring at Toothless until the Night Fury was out of sight.

"Hello, Astrid," said a voice from behind. Turning around, Astrid and the others found themselves staring at Mildew.

"Hi," said Astrid, trying to sound cheerful. "What do you want?"

"Oh nothing," said Mildew. "I've just heard that Stoick is sending out a search party to look for the Snaptrapper. And guess who he left out? You guys."

"Good," said Astrid. "I never want to see another Snaptrapper again."

"Me neither," said Fishlegs, shuddering. "I like dragons, but not when they like the way people taste. Gross."

"Stoick doesn't trust you," said Mildew. "That's why he didn't include you in the search party."

"Seriously?" said Snotlout. He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right. And Hiccup has both his feet."

"Of course Stoick trusts us," said Astrid. "Why wouldn't he? He's just being cautious. The Snaptrapper did almost kill Hiccup, after all."

"Yes," said Mildew, "but now members of the search party he sends out are going to die. There's no more cure, you all know. One of you gets bit, and you die. Aah well, I didn't expect you to care about the good of Berk. All you care about are the dragons."

"NOT true!" Snotlout snapped. "The dragons help the Berkians. If they made life miserable, we'd get rid of them! But they make life easier. They do more good than harm."

"Except the Snaptrapper," said Mildew. "It did try to kill Hiccup, didn't it? And it would have succeeded, too, if Gothi didn't have the cure. If you guys really cared about Berk, you would go out before the search party does, find the Snaptrapper, and then lead it away from Berk."

With that, he turned and left, leaving the others to think about it.

He headed towards the forge where he knew Hiccup was working. Hiccup was welding something together, his focus completely on his work. He didn't even notice Mildew. Mildew snuck away just for a second, found a cup, filled it with water, and then brought it back. But before he did, he took a small vial of clear liquid out of his pocket and poured the contents into the cup. Then, he reentered the forge.

"Hiccup!" he called out. Hiccup stopped and dropped what he was doing.

"Oh, hey," he said. What was Mildew doing there? Really, the last thing Hiccup wanted to do was have a huge conversation with Mildew about how bad the dragons were, and a list of reasons why they should be banished. "I don't want to talk about the dragons right now."

"I don't want to talk about that," said Mildew. He set the cup down in front of Hiccup. Hiccup frowned and looked up at Mildew, wondering what he was missing. "Brought you some water."

"You...what do you really want, Mildew?" said Hiccup. "Is this about the dragons?"

"Not about the dragons plural," said Mildew. "One dragon in particular. The Snaptrapper."

"Snaptrapper," said Hiccup. "Yeeeeaah...what about it?"

"Your father is sending out a search party to look for it," said Mildew.

"Well, good," said Hiccup. "What does this have to do with me?"

"He didn't say anything about bringing you," said Mildew. "Actually, he said the exact opposite. He doesn't trust you, Hiccup."

"Of course he does," said Hiccup. "He's just protective. The Snaptrapper did almost kill me, after all. I'd be the same way."

Hiccup went back to hammering.

"You know, the members of the search party are reckoned to get themselves killed," said Mildew. "They don't know anything about dragons. They'll get themselves poisoned, and then die without the cure. Of course, I wouldn't expect you to care. All you ever think about is that Night Fury of yours."

Hiccup stopped hammering, and then slammed the tool down on the table.

"Dragons are NOT the only thing I think about," he snapped.

"Then prove it!" said Mildew. "Go and find the Snaptrapper before the search party goes out. Save their lives, you will, Hiccup. You and your little dragon riding friends."

Hiccup glared at the wall in front of him instead of turning around to face Mildew.

"I'll think about it," he said, and continued hammering.

"I brought you some water, I said," said Mildew. "You could at least pretend it means something."

Hiccup sighed, put down the hammer, and then took a few sips of the water.

"There," he said. "Thank you, Mildew."

Mildew smiled. "You're welcome, Hiccup," he said, and then left.

Hiccup looked at him until he was out of sight. Strange. No complaints about the dragons? Hiccup decided to stop thinking about that, and continued working on "The Mangler B, #58", thinking about what Mildew had said.

_He doesn't trust you...All you ever think about is that Night Fury of yours...Go and find the Snaptrapper before the search party goes out. Save their lives, you will, Hiccup._

"Maybe I will," Hiccup spoke out loud to himself. "Maybe I will."

He was completely unaware of Mildew watching him with satisfaction.

The plan was moving perfectly, smoothly, and just how he planned it to. Now he just had to wait for the pieces to come together.


	7. Chapter 7

**HELLO! I AM HERE! YAY! :D This is my FIRST update today, and I LOVE THIS STORY oh my goodness! :) I am having so much fun with it! And I hope you guys are too! :) Shout-outs: **

**silverwolvesarecool: AAAH! HICCUP YOU WEIRDO! DON'T DRINK THE WATER! Hiccup: *drinks the water* Me: *deadpan expression* WHAT DID I JUST TELL YOU TO DO!? UAGH! :) **

**AnimeAngel: Mildew, watch out, because you are gonna face the wrath of AnimeAngel and Aquaria, along with BeyondTheClouds777 and Sparkglider! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! **

**Silver Electricity: Coffee! LOVE COFFEE! HAVE SOME MOOOOOOOOREEEEEE! I WILL HAVE SOME MORE TTTTOOOOOOOOO! YAYAYAYAYAYYAAY! TO THE EVIL LAIR! AWAAAAAYYYYYY! **

**TinyToothless22: That poison was just to give the "bad guy" of the story an idea. There will be more poison and then it will be a "go on a quest, get back before tomorrow or he dies" kind of thing. Yes, the water Mildew gave Hiccup has a LOT to do with it. Guess who the poisoner is? And I don't really have a strict updating ****schedule. I mean, I normally update two to three times a day (except yesterday I updated five times). I don't really update on Saturday very much (maybe once or twice?). So yeah, I really don't have an updating schedule. I update whenever I have a finished chapter. :) **

**Guest (#1): AAAAH! YOU DID!? AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME! CONGRATULATIONS! :D **

**Guest (#2): I've considered writing something like that. Yeah, there's a LOT in the book of dragons people often forget. Like the fact that the Snaptrapper smells like chocolate to lure you in, and some awful smell to lure you out (which I will be using in this fanfiction). **

**Wanli8970: Ugh, MILDEW! I really don't like him. Who does? You're not SUPPOSED to like him! AH! **

**midnightsky0612: Took the words right out of my mouth. **

**xFaerieValkyriex: AGH! You will seeeeee...**

After five more tries with "The Mangler B, #58" (which was now "The Mangler B, #63"), Hiccup decided to take a break on that and meet up with the others at the Great Hall like he had said he would. He moved out of the forge, mounted Toothless, and headed off.

Reaching the Great Hall, Hiccup saw Hookfang, Meatlung, Stormfly, Barf and Belch outside, indicating that their riders had already arrived. Hiccup landed Toothless, dismounted, and then headed inside, telling Toothless to wait for him. Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout and the twins were sitting at one of the tables, discussing something Hiccup couldn't catch.

"How are you guys doing tonight?" Hiccup asked as he sat down next to Astrid across from Snotlout.

"Fine," said Astrid. "Mildew told us that your Dad was planning a search party to look for the Snaptrapper."

"Yeah, Mildew told me that, too," said Hiccup. "Strange. It's almost like he _wants _us to go after it." He shook his head and took out his notebook, reading over his previous designs for "The Mangler B", trying to figure out what he had done wrong in them, and what he should do differently in the next tryout.

The others continued with their conversation as if he weren't even there.

"I think he wants us to go out so we can get ourselves killed," said Astrid. "Why else would he care about a Snaptrapper raiding Berk?"

"Yeah," said Snotlout. "Since when did he care about Berk's safety?"

"I think we should go for it," said Tuffnut. "Mildew did have a point. The members of the search party are likely to get themselves killed if they go out without dragons. We have dragons we can use against the Snaptrapper. We can lure it away...or take it back to the village-"

"No," said Astrid. "We have to either find a way to train it, and then if that doesn't work, find a way to get rid of it. I think we should do it, as long as we're careful."

Hiccup looked up from his book. "You guys aren't _seriously_ considering this, are you?" he asked, although he already knew the answer.

"What do you think we should do?" Fishlegs asked.

"I think it's crazy," said Hiccup, closing his notebook and setting it down in front of him. "I think it is insane, demented, delusional, and crazy."

"He didn't say no," said Ruffnut.

"Which meant he practically said yes," said Tuffnut.

"Wait...what!?" said Hiccup.

"Come on!" said Astrid. "If we're going to go, we should go!"

They stood up and raced away.

"Wait a minute!" Hiccup called as he stood up and ran after them. "Wait just half a minute! Guuuuys!"

They ran out of the Great Hall without hardly even giving him a second thought. As soon as they did, Hiccup followed. All but Hiccup mounted their dragons. Just before they took off, Hiccup shouted.

"Guys, wait!" he said. "This is arrogant! Extremely arrogant."

"Are you coming or not?" said Astrid. Then, she and the others took off.

"Oh for the _love of_..." Hiccup groaned and then sighed. "Come on, Toothless," he said. "Let's go out there before they get themselves killed." He mounted his Night Fury, and the two of them took air.

Hiccup felt a strange dizziness plague him, but he ignored it with a quick shake of his head. Then, he steered Toothless forward to follow the others as they went after the Snaptrapper.

"Nice if you to join the party!" said Astrid as Toothless flew right beside her and Stormfly.

"You guys really didn't give me the choice now, did you," said Hiccup. It was a statement; not a question. "I can't let you guys out of my sight for _two seconds _without you causing a whole mess of trouble. Not so much you, Astrid, as it is..._them._"

"Harder!" Tuffnut shouted. "I said I want to see stars!"

Ruffnut and him bashed their heads together, and then looked ahead of them in satisfaction.

"Aaaah," they breathed in unison.

"Yeah, I can see that," said Astrid to Hiccup. "You okay?"

"Hmm?" said Hiccup. "Fine. I just really don't think this is such a good idea. We should have at least waited until morning."

"Yeah," said Astrid, "but that's probably when the search party gets sent out. It was either now or never, Hiccup."

"Maybe we shouldn't have gone at all," said Hiccup.

"No one's making you come with us, you know," said Astrid.

"Are you kidding me?" said Hiccup. "No way I can leave you and Fishlegs alone with Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Snotlout."

"Well, I guess you do have a point," said Astrid. "Yeah, you do. A good point, too."

Hiccup nodded before turning his attention back into the area ahead of him. They were heading towards Raven Point, looking down for any sign of the Snaptrapper. Hiccup was hoping it had just left for good and that they wouldn't even have to deal with it.

"Hiccup, are you seriously okay?" said Astrid.

"What?" said Hiccup. "Why would you think I wasn't okay?"

"Just...the Snaptrapper, and all," said Astrid. "You sure you don't want to go back? Really, you don't look too good."

Hiccup shrugged. "I'm fine," he lied.

"Mmm hmm," said Astrid. "You know I'm not buying it."

"Yeah," said Hiccup. "Don't worry. I'm just a little tired." Which he was.

"Fine," said Astrid.

"Look!" shouted Snotlout from up ahead of them. "Down there!"

"What is it?" said Hiccup.

"Snaptrapper," said Tuffnut. "Snaptrapper at twelve o'clock!"

The Snaptrapper looked up at the youths and roared. Toothless and the other dragons roared back. The Snaptrapper spread its wings, and came right at them.

"Snotlout Ruff and Tuff, basic maneuvers!" Hiccup ordered, swerving Toothless in the other direction. Astrid and Fishlegs screamed slightly before their dragons moved out of the way of the Snaptrapper. As soon as it passed them, it turned around and came at them again.

Toothless headed straight for it, firing a plasma blast. The Snaptrapper dodged the blast easily and then sped on, swooping right over Hiccup and his dragon.

"Astrid, he's coming your way!" Hiccup warned.

"On it, Dragon Boy!" said Astrid.

"And please...don't call me Dragon Boy," said Hiccup, although he was mainly talking to himself.

Astrid swerved on Stormfly, narrowly avoiding the Snaptrapper. Mr. Firespit spun around, and came straight at Hiccup and Toothless. Neither of them saw it, apparently, because they didn't stop or turn in another direction.

"Hiccup! In front of you!" Astrid nearly screamed.

Too late. Toothless and the Snaptrapper collided.


	8. Chapter 8

**This is my SECOND update today. I've gotten a whole bunch of reviews for this story already! It makes me so happy! :) Shout-outs: **

**silverwolvesarecool: YAY! Updating! :D **

**Guest (#1): I tend to pick on him a lot in all of my stories. At least a little bit, that is. *shrugs* I guess that's what comes with being the main character of a story. :) **

**xFaerieValkyriex: Mildew...I really don't like that guy. He gets on everyone's last nerves. **

**movielover48: Thank you! :) **

**Silver Electricity: *raises hand* OOOH! OH! PICK ME! I WILL SPIN THE WHEEL OF MISS-FORTUNE! :) *walks up, grabs handle, spins wheel* Let us decide Mildew's fate! COFFEE! *takes coffee you offered, hands you more* CCCCCCCCCCOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! I LOVE COFFEE! MAKES ME GO CWWWAAAAZZZZYYYY! :D :D :D MILDEW'S FATE IS DEATH BY SNAPTRAPPER! YAY! (for us, not him). MAYBE I SHOULD MAKE HIM HAVE DEATH BY SNAPTRAPPER IN THIS STORY! YES! YES YES! YES YES YEEEEEEESSSSSSS! (should I really do that?) **

"Gobber, have you seen Hiccup?" Stoick asked.

"Not since earlier," said Gobber. "Why?"

"I haven't seen him all day," said Stoick. "Now that I think about it, I haven't seen any of the youths from the academy all day. Do you think they might have run off somewhere?"

"Stoick, what are you worried about?" said Gobber. "This is Hiccup we're talking about!"

"That's _exactly_ what worries me," said Stoick.

"Don't worry!" said Gobber. "I'm sure he and the others are fine."

...

"AAAAAHHHH!" Hiccup screamed as he fell through the air.

"Snotlout!" shouted Astrid. He was the one closest to Hiccup, which was the only reason she had shouted to him.

"I'm on it!" replied Snotlout. He steered Hookfang, and then grabbed Hiccup by his ankle just before he slammed into the ground.

"Aww, you do care!" Hiccup smirked.

Snotlout frowned at his cousin. Toothless did his best to level off, but it wasn't working too well. Without a rider, he could only crash.

"Snotlout!" Hiccup shouted.

"Fine, fine, I'm on it!" Snotlout steered Hookfang right over Toothless (which was hard since said Night Fury was spinning out of control) and then dropped Hiccup. Hiccup landed perfectly on Toothless' back and had just enough time to click his prosthetic into the pedal and pull up before Toothless hit the ground.

"YES it worked!" said Hiccup. "Now let's take down this Snaptrapper."

Toothless screeched his trademark Night Fury call. The Snaptrapper turned and roared in his direction. Then, Toothless fired a plasma blast straight at it. The dragon turned and headed to the ground.

"Come on!" said Hiccup to the other riders. "Let's follow it. But first-" he paused, "give me a chance. I'm going to try and train it."

"WHAT!?" shouted the others in unison.

"You really think you can tame that thing!?" Snotlout shouted.

"You cannot _tame _a dragon, Snotlout," said Hiccup. "You can _train _them, but not _tame _them. There is a vast difference between the two words."

With that, he turned and steered Toothless downwards, towards the Snaptrapper. Toothless landed just a few feet in front of it. Hiccup put his hand up to the others to tell them to remain airborne. Then, he dismounted, and approached the Snaptrapper.

The Snaptrapper growled; each head opened up in three ways, and each head was hissing and growling emansely.

"It's okay," said Hiccup, putting his hands out in front of him. "I'm not going to hurt you, just so long as you don't hurt me." He slipped his hand, wrapping it around the hilt to his dagger. Then, he unsheathed it, holding it out so the dragon saw it. It hissed instantly, each head recoiling.

Then, Hiccup threw the dagger. It sank into a tree trunk and embedded there instantly. The Snaptrapper turned all four of its heads and looked at Hiccup. Hiccup stared back at it. He swallowed hard, and then reached both his hands out and turned his head away.

He was completely surrendering to the Snaptrapper. If the Snaptrapper pounced, it would kill him certainly. Poison him again, probably, too, if it didn't kill him before the other riders intervened.

Hiccup released a breath he didn't know he was holding when he felt one of the Snaptrapper heads nuzzle his hand. He paused and waited to see if the other heads would do the same. Then, he felt a second, third, and fourth follow in a rapid session, two heads bumping into each of Hiccup's hands.

Hiccup laughed. "It worked!" he called up to the other riders. "It really worked!"

One of the Snaptrapper heads nuzzled his side, and Hiccup rubbed its head. The others swarmed in, obviously craving attention. Hiccup laughed as the other riders landed behind him and dismounted.

"This is incredible!" Fishlegs exclaimed. "A Snaptrapper! A real live Snaptrapper! And you trained it!"

Astrid put her hand out and gently pet one of the Snaptrapper's heads. It purred and leaned into her touch.

"You know," she said, "we should name each head, just so it doesn't get confusing."

"You trained it," said Fishlegs to Hiccup. "You pick out the first name."

"Um...ookay, thanks," said Hiccup. "I'm going to call you..." he pointed to the far left Snaptrapper head, "...Venomous, since I am quite certain you are the head that bit me."

Venomous hung his head, obviously ashamed.

"Okay, Astrid, you pick the next name," said Hiccup.

"Okay," said Astrid. "I'm going to name you..." she pointed to the one right beside Venomous, "Charcoal, because you have a black smudge right over your eye right there."

"Okay, Fishlegs?" Hiccup offered.

"I'm going to call you..." Fishlegs pointed to the one right beside Charcoal, "Overbite, since a few of your teeth stick out."

"Okay, Snotlout, Ruff, Tuff, do you think you could agree on one?" Hiccup asked.

"We've already talked it over," said Snotlout. "We're going to name the last one Deathbreath."

Silence.

"What?" said Snotlout. "It fits him!"

"Okay," said Hiccup, clapping his hands together. "So we have Venomous, Charcoal, Overbite, and Deathbreath. Perfect. Should we head back to the village?"

"Sure!" said Astrid. "But, um...we need _four_ riders to ride the Snaptrapper."

"You're right," said Hiccup. "Ruff, Tuff, you are going to ride Overbite and Deathbreath, since you two are...I can't believe I'm saying this...experts at riding a dragon with more than one head. Astrid, you can ride Charcoal, and I'll ride Venomous. Tell your dragons to follow us back to the village."

Tuffnut, Ruffnut, Astrid and Hiccup mounted the Snaptrapper. They gave their dragons commands to follow them, and then were airborne.

"So, Snaptrapper," said Fishlegs. "What are we going to do with it?"

"Simple!" said Hiccup. "Train it. Bring it to the academy, keep it out of the reach of Snotlout and the twins, and then train it. Do what we did with all the other dragons that ever took part in the academy."

"Sweet!" said Snotlout. "Wait...what was that about keeping it away from me?"

Hiccup didn't reply.

"There's the village!" Tuffnut called out to the others. "So what are we going to do with this Snapptertrap?"

"Snaptrapper," Hiccup corrected. "And didn't you just hear what I said?"

"Absolutely," said Tuffnut. "Not."

Hiccup facepalmed.

"We're going to train it," Astrid answered for Hiccup. "That's all you need to know."

On the way back, Hiccup felt the same dizzy feeling he had earlier. He shook himself out of it, but wondered what had caused it.


	9. Chapter 9

**This is my THIRD update on this story today. I have a poll up on my profile for which one I am going to write next. So far, it looks like "Snowed In" is going for the win, followed by "Truth or Dare." It is possible I will post "Truth or Dare" around the same time "Snowed In" is being updated. I will be taking truth or dare requests (although I won't be able to do all of them) and write as they come, meaning I probably won't update on that one very much. Same goes for "Hammerfest" when I start writing that one. Same type concept. Anyways, enough of my blabbling. Shout-outs?: **

**AnimeAngel: YES. He will face the WRATH of BeyondTheClouds777, AnimeAngel, Aquaria, and Sparkglider! Along with a bunch of angry Berkians...oooh, this should be interesting. XD! Free virtual popcorn while we watch! :) *throws it out to you* And some fish for Aquaria! *tosses fish out* **

**silverwolvesarecool: MAN I get so mad at Mildew sometimes! Really, I want to see Mildew get banished or something in season 3 or 4 of the new TV series. That would be something awesome. :) **

**Silver Electricity: I LOVE COFFEE! :D HAVE SOME MORE COFFEE! *hands you one, takes huge sip of my own* *bounces off the walls* COFFEE COFFEE CHA CHA CHA. COFFEE COFFEE CHA CHA CHA! **

**Wanli8970: I guess we shall see! :D **

The Snaptrapper wasn't exactly opening up to the idea of landing on Berk.

Of course, it had the other day, but now...? It had four riders at the time, and was rather protective of them. There were other dragons flying all around Berk. The Snaptrapper wasn't exactly liking the idea.

"I don't think he wants to land," said Astrid to Hiccup.

"Yeah, me neither," said Hiccup. "Should we take it straight to the academy?"

"I think that would be better," said Astrid. "We still don't know half as much about the Snaptrapper as we want to. We don't know whether or not it will attack upon seeing other people."

"So what are we going to do with the Trappersnapper?" Tuffnut asked.

"Snaptrapper!" the others corrected in unison.

"Um, right, Trapsnap," said Tuffnut. "What are we going to do with it after we train it?"

"Let's cross that ocean when we come to it," said Hiccup. "Let's head on to the academy, and then I'll tell my Dad that he doesn't have to worry about chasing after the Snaptrapper anymore."

They took it straight to the academy, and then put it in Hookfang's pin temporarily. Then, Hiccup went off to tell his Dad of their achievement.

...

"Hey, Dad, you can call off the search party!" Hiccup called. He saw Stoick heading towards the Great Hall on Thornado, and decided to give him a heads up.

"Hiccup!" said Stoick. "I've been looking all over for you." He paused. "How did you know about the search party?"

"Mildew told us," Astrid answered. "And so we went out to look for the Snaptrapper, and we found it!"

"You did?" said Stoick. "Where is it?"

"At the academy," said Fishlegs. "Hiccup trained it."

"You trained it?" Stoick asked.

"Yep," said Hiccup. "So, you can call off the search party. No need putting the other Berkians' lives at risk."

They headed off in opposite directions. Stoick wondered how in the world Mildew had figured out about the search party, and then decided he would have a little talk with the old man the next day.

...

"I still think it's awesome that you trained the Snaptrapper!" said Astrid with enthusiasm. She and Hiccup were walking through the plaza, their dragons walking at their sides, talking about the Snaptrapper and different ways to train it. It was nearing midnight, the full moon providing enough light to see in front of them just a few feet. "I mean...you can train any dragon really. Just...a Snaptrapper. A four headed Snaptrapper! It's truly incredible, Hiccup." She punched his shoulder playfully, but then realized something strange.

"Hiccup, you're freezing," said Astrid.

"Well, thanks," said Hiccup.

"No, I mean it," said Astrid. She grabbed his arm and rolled up his sleeve before touching it. "Your skin is freezing. Is something wrong?"

Hiccup jerked away. "No, I don't think so," he said. "And a little warning next time before grabbing my arm like that."

"Okay," said Astrid. She decided to let it go. It was cold that night. Besides, she didn't want him to think she was being overprotective and worried about him. Well, of course she was a little bit worried, just not so much concerned. She would see how he was doing tomorrow.

"Okay," said Hiccup. "I'll meet you at the academy tomorrow morning for some work on the Snaptrapper. And...it might be better if we don't tell Snotlout or the twins about it. Deal?"

"Deal," said Astrid. "What about Fishlegs?"

"Yeah, you could tell him to meet us there, too," said Hiccup. "We could use his intellect."

"See you then!" Astrid called as she turned and ran off in the opposite direction. Hiccup waved quickly before running off to the forge to work on "The Mangler" some more. On his way over, though, he felt dizzy again. Only this time, it was more violent than the first and second times.

He put his hand up against the wall and leaned against it. Toothless grunted in confusion and then sniffed his rider. The Night Fury recoiled in disgust. There was a scent there that the dragon knew.

_Poison_.

This wasn't right. They had gotten rid of the poison. Then why was the scent still on Hiccup? Toothless was perplexed. What in the _world..._?

Since he was worried, he pushed Hiccup gently with his nose in the direction of his house.

"Toothless, what are you doing?" Hiccup asked. Toothless didn't reply. He picked Hiccup up in his teeth and then ran to their house.

"Toothless!" Hiccup shouted. "What are you _doing_? Crazy dragon!"

Toothless dropped Hiccup in front of their door and looked at him expectantly. Hiccup stood up and dusted himself off.

"What are you thinking?" he asked. "No, Toothless, I'm not going to sleep. I have to do some more work in the forge." At that instant, another wave of dizziness plagued him. Toothless looked at him and nodded. "O-on second thought," said Hiccup, "maybe I should lay down."

He pushed the door open and walked up the stairs to his loft. His father hadn't arrived home, so he was alone with Toothless. He laid down and watched Toothless curl up on his stone slab in the corner, closing his eyes.

Hiccup closed his eyes as well and tried to relax. His head pounded like someone was constantly hitting it with a hammer (and since he worked in a forge, he knew what it felt like to accidently hit yourself with a hammer. It _hurt_).

Eventually, he fell into a restless sleep. He woke up a few times, each time his headache increased miserably, adding to the level of agony for Hiccup, but he tried to ignore it.

When the pounding finally stopped enough for him to fall asleep and remain that way, he realized that the sun had risen. He sat up groggily, wishing he could have at least had a few hours of decent sleep.

He got up out of bed, seeing Toothless was already awake.

"Come on, Toothless," Hiccup groaned. "Let's go meet Astrid at the academy."


	10. Chapter 10

**This is my FOURTH update today. I'm really enjoying this story, and I've also got a TON more planned for it, so don't worry. I'm hoping it adds up to about thirty chapters in the end, if I'm lucky (which I really hope I am). Anyways, shout-outs: **

**Silver Electricity: THANKS FOR THE COFFEE AND OREOS! *takes them, hands you more in return* LET'S GO CWAAAAAZZZYYYY! :D **

**silverwolvesarecool: YES! VENOMOUS, CHARCOAL, OVERBITE AND DEATHBREATH, ATTTTTTTAAAAACCCCKKKK! :D **

**Wanli8970: Yes, I do. :) **

**Animalhugger2874: Yup! I have your vote dialed in. And you know, you can vote for more than one thing. Actually, on my poll, you can vote up to twenty things. So...really, don't worry about voting for more than one if there's more than one you want to vote for. :) **

**midnightsky0612: YEEEES HICCUP TRAINED THE SNAPTRAPPER! NOOOO MILDEW WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE!? WATCH OUT! midnightsky0612 is going to chase you off Berk with the NIGHTFURY ARMY! AAAAAAAGH! DIE! DIE! DIE! **

**AnimeAngel: Glad Aquaria approves of the fish! I'm not all that great a cook...just ask Sparkglider. Sparkglider: *huffs* *growls in agreement* Me: Thanks, girl. You instill me with confidence. And that is a GREAT idea for Truth or Dare! HAHAHAHAHA! LOVE IT! I'll have to use it! :D **

Astrid waited for Hiccup. Sure, he said he would be there...but he was already an hour late. What kept him?

She was just about to head out, find him, and ask him herself, when Toothless flew into the academy.

"Hey, Astrid," said Hiccup as he dismounted. "Sorry I'm late."

"You're _very _late," said Astrid, crossing her arms. "What took you so long to get here?"

"Had a rough night," said Hiccup. "Never mind that, though. Should we begin work on the Snaptrapper?"

Astrid nodded to Fishlegs, who stood behind her. Fishlegs pulled the lever opening the cage the Snaptrapper was caged in. The dragon burst out of it and approached Hiccup, pausing just a few feet away from him.

"Hello Venomous," said Hiccup. "Charcoal, Overbite, Deathbreath." The Snaptrapper heads each took turns nuzzling Hiccup's hand. "How are you guys doing?"

Venomous, Charcoal, Overbite and Deathbreath grunted before turning and running circles around the academy.

"What did you learn from it, if anything?" Hiccup asked, ducking when the Snaptrapper spread its wings and swooped over his head.

"Nothing much," said Fishlegs.

"We would have learned a whole lot more if _someone _hadn't arrived an hour late," said Astrid.

"I said I was _sorry_," said Hiccup. "Ugh."

The Snaptrapper continued to run circles around the academy until he stopped in the corner. Then, it opened its four heads and stayed in that position.

"What's that smell?" Astrid questioned.

"Is that..._chocolate_?" Fishlegs asked.

"Of course," said Hiccup. "Snaptrappers produce a chocolate scent to lure in their prey."

"So I guess the Snaptrapper's hungry," said Fishlegs.

He tossed the dragon a few fish, which the heads fought over, but eventually came to an understanding.

They worked on a few more tricks with the Snaptrapper until Snotlout and the twins arrived. Then, they were forced to put the Snaptrapper back in its pin before they got any ideas.

Shortly after, they decided to work on some dragon trust exercises.

...

"The search party has been called off," said Stoick to the members of said search party. Mildew, who was hiding in the corner, unnoticed and out of sight, listened intently. "Hiccup and the others have trained the Snaptrapper," Stoick announced. "No more worrying about that dragon."

Mildew fought the urge to yell in frustration. In his plan, they weren't supposed to train it. They were supposed to get hurt by it. But he had plan B up his sleeves, which he had already put into action the day before. The infected water he had given Hiccup would work just fine.

When the meeting broke, Mildew snuck out of the Great Hall to prepare himself for the other parts of the plan.

...

Stoick left shortly after in search of Mildew. He found the old man near the armory, heading from there in the direction of his house.

"Mildew," said Stoick.

"Why hello, Stoick!" said Mildew. "What can I do for you?"

"Hiccup told me that you told them about the search party," said Stoick. "How did you hear about it?"

"Oh, I just overheard some people talkin'," Mildew lied. "Got me thinkin'. I didn't mean any harm, you know, of course."

"Be careful, Mildew," said Stoick. "I'm always watching." Then, he turned and walked away.

"Just not at the right times," Mildew whispered to himself.

...

Hiccup fell through the air calmly, looking down below him at the island stretched out beneath him. He closed his eyes and smiled. Freefalling felt good...as long as you knew there was someone there to catch you.

Toothless swooped in underneath him just before he hit the ground. Hiccup clicked his prosthetic into the foot pedal and pulled up.

"Nice going, bud!" Hiccup congratulated. "A little close..."

Toothless grunted and shot into the sky, meeting up with the other riders.

"Oookay, Fishlegs, you're next!" said Hiccup. He gestured to the air in front of him. "Jump!"

"WHAT!?" said Fishlegs.

"Fishlegs, you have to believe she will catch you," said Hiccup. "It's a trust exercise."

"Well, Meatlung and I like to do our _trusting _on the _ground_, thank you very much," said Fishlegs.

"FIshlegs, like this!" said Astrid. She stood up and jumped off Stormfly without hardly giving it a second thought. Stormfly swooped in underneath her at the last second and then shot back into the sky.

"See?" said Astrid. "Easy!"

"Easy for you to _say_!" said Fishlegs.

"Okay, never mind," said Hiccup. "Do I really have to demonstrate again?"

"No," said Tuffnut. "Allow me!"

He put his hands in the air and fell off the dragon sideways, whooping with the thrill of falling through the sky. The Zippleback made no point to follow him. Until he heard Tuffnut's cry of satisfaction turn into a scream of terror.

The Zippleback jerked downwards so fast Ruffnut fell off its other head.

"Oh not again," Hiccup groaned.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut were both free falling, screaming their heads off. The Zippleback heads were fighting with each other, twisting awkwardly, trying to save each of its riders.

"Oh that's...that's productive," Hiccup grumbled. "Astrid, you get Tuffnut. I'll get Ruffnut."

"On it," said Astrid, and headed off. Stormfly and Toothless both caught one of the twins, swooped over the Zippleback, and then dropped them onto their backs.

"Trusting on the ground," said Fishlegs, "from now on."

Hiccup found himself secretly agreeing. He hugged himself and rubbed his arms. Astrid noticed him do so. He had been doing it a lot the past few hours.

"Is something wrong?" she asked suspiciously.

"Hmm?" said Hiccup. "No, nothing's wrong. It's just cold."

"Hiccup, it's like, ninety degrees out here," said Snotlout.

"Really?" Hiccup questioned, almost in disbelief. "That's strange."

Astrid steered Stormfly over to him and pressed his forehead. She had expected it to be hot; sometimes fevers can make people believe it is cold when it's hot, or hot when it's cold. But instead, his skin was ice cold; even colder than it had been the previous night.

"You could be coming down with something," she commented.

Hiccup pushed her hand away. "No, I'm fine," he assured her. "Let's do a little bit more training, and then if you want I'll go home and sleep. Okay?"

"Fine," said Astrid. She wanted to argue, but he would never listen. She might as well go with this.

They headed back to the academy to learn more about the Snaptrapper.


	11. Chapter 11

**This is my FIFTH update today, my readers! I really appreciate reviews, but I don't want any of you to feel pressured about reviewing. Sure, they keep me going, but reviews or no reviews, I love writing fanfiction, so...yeah. I love reviews, but don't feel like you have to. :) Shout-outs: **

**silverwolvesarecool: Yes, I really despise Mildew. I respect old people, but Mildew's just...gah. I don't like him. You're not really supposed to like him. :)**

**xFaerieValkyriex: LISTEN TO HER, YOU FOOLISH BOY! Hiccup: *doesn't listen* Me: *deadpan expression* Why do you always do that?**

**Wanli8970: YES! GO FLARA! FLARA FLARA OI OI OI! SHOW MILDEW NOT TO MESS WITH BERKIANS! **

**Silver Electricity: POOOOOOOPPPPPPPCCCCCCOOOOOOORRRRRNNNNNN! THHHHHAAAANNNNNKKKK YYYYOOOOOUUUUU! HAVE SOME MORE CCCCOOOOOOOOOOFFFFFEEEEEEEEE! I AM SO INNNNNNSSSSSAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNEEE! !**

Venomous, Charcoal, Overbite and Deathbreath hissed at Snotlout and the twins. Hiccup pushed the two of them aside just so the Snaptrapper wouldn't decide they would make a delicious dessert, and then stood in front of the four headed dragon.

"Okay, Fishlegs," said Hiccup. "Give me another quick run down. Dragon's strengths and weaknesses. Shoot."

"Okay," said Fishlegs. "Attack level ten, speed level four, armor level four, firepower level six, shot limit four, jaw strength twenty eight; seven each head, stealth level sixty; fifteen each head, and poison level eighteen."

"Got that," said Hiccup. "Thanks. Where's it's blindspot?"

"Dude, you're referring to a dragon with _four heads_," said Snotlout.

"O_kay_, never mind the blindspot," said Hiccup.

"You've already trained it," said Astrid. "What are you doing now?"

"I need to show it that I would never hurt it, of course," said Hiccup. "Even if it can't see me."

"Virtually impossible," said Snotlout. "It's got _four heads_."

"Thank you, Mr. Obvious," said Astrid. "We enjoy your intellect."

"Guys, quiet," said Hiccup. "Okay, first off, I think we should teach the Snaptrapper some basic commands. Such as...I don't know...let's say...FIRE!" He pointed to the wall right over Snotlout's head. The four dragon heads each sucked in a breath and fired each a small fireball so they combined and then hit the wall.

"Whoa!" Snotlout shouted as he jumped out of the way, just barely avoiding the hit. "You did that on purpose!"

"Sure I did," said Hiccup. "But _this_ is an accident." The Snaptrapper fired again. Snotlout was forced to move out of the way a second time.

"Not funny!" he shouted.

"Actually, it kind of is," said Tuffnut. "That dragon's got some _serious _firepower. It's glorious. I could watch it all day."

"So, I think it's got _FIRE _down," said Snotlout. Apparently, the Snaptrapper took Snotlout's saying FIRE as a command. It fired, this time at Ruffnut and Tuffnut. The twins jumped out of the way, knocking into each other in the process.

"Whoa," Ruffnut breathed. "That thing's incredible. It almost killed us."

"Yeah, I know," said Tuffnut. "Do it again!"

"Guys, enough with the firepower," said Hiccup. "I wonder if we could teach it to poison who we want to."

"Yeah," said Snotlout. "Teach it _not_ to poison you again." He snickered as if it were the funniest thing in the world.

"What do you find humerous about that statement, Snotlout?" Hiccup asked. "I could have easily died!"

"No kidding!" said Astrid. "It was scary, guys!"

"I was just joking," said Snotlout.

"Well, maybe you should start taking near death experiences seriously," said Hiccup. "Anyways, we should work on it more tomorrow. I'm excited about having a Snaptrapper in the academy. It'll do wonders for the Snaptrapper section in the Book of Dragons."

"Yes, yes it will!" said Fishlegs with enthusiasm. "I am so excited about this! I can hardly wait! I'm...I'm bursting at the scenes!"

"I don't see why you get all hyped up about dragons," said Snotlout, but neither Hiccup, Astrid or Fishlegs were listening.

"So we'll meet here tomorrow, as soon as the sun's up?" Hiccup offered.

"Deal," the others replied.

"We'll work on some more Snaptrapper tricks tomorrow," said Hiccup. "For now, we should get some sleep."

Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut mounted their dragons and headed off. Astrid helped Hiccup get Venomous, Charcoal, Overbite and Deathbreath back in their pin, and then they turned to each other.

"Well," said Hiccup, breathing a breath of relief as he leaned against the wall, "glad _that _went well."

"As well as you would expect," said Astrid. She leaned against the wall and crossed her arms. "You taught that Snaptrapper how to fire in less than three seconds. How?"

"I don't know, to be frank," said Hiccup, almost sounding embarrassed. "Maybe he heard the words before from other people and just knew what it meant. I really have no idea whatsoever. Dragons are smarter than we often give them credit for."

Astrid nodded. "Sooo..." she said, "shouldn't you be getting to bed?"

"What do you mean?" Hiccup asked.

She moved over to him and placed the back of her palm against his forehead. He still felt freezing...maybe even a little bit more than before. She couldn't tell after just a second, and before she could, Hiccup pushed her hand away.

"Astrid, why do you keep doing that?" he asked.

"In case you have forgotten," said Astrid, "just two days or so ago, you were poisoned and nearly killed by a Snaptrapper."

"It wasn't _that bad_," said Hiccup. "Besides, it's completely over with now. No more worrying in the poison department."

"I know, but still-"

"If anything strange happens, I'll tell you," said Hiccup. "Trust me, I'll tell you. Right now, just please stop worrying about me? It's a little creepy."

Astrid smirked and rolled her eyes. "Fine," she said. "One little tiny thing...even if it's nothing...you tell me, even if it's in the middle of the night. You come get me."

"Sure," said Hiccup. "So I will see you tomorrow."

"Okay, see you tomorrow," Astrid agreed.

She mounted Stormfly, and then headed out. Hiccup turned to Toothless, mounted him, and then headed out as well in the direction of his house.

The night was beautiful. With a new moon, the stars played out even brighter than usual. It would have been all perfect, hadn't Hiccup begun feeling dizzy and woozy again.

Toothless cooed with worry when he felt Hiccup sway slightly on his back. Hiccup shook his head to knock himself out of the dizziness, but it only made it worse.

"Hey, I'm fine, buddy," said Hiccup. "Nothing to worry about. Alright?"

Toothless snorted, obviously not believing a word Hiccup was saying, but decided not to give Hiccup a hard time about it. If he was already feeling wretched, he didn't want to do something to add to it.

Upon reaching their house, Hiccup landed Toothless and then dismounted. He steadied himself, using the dragon as a crutch while he regained his balance, and then moved over, opened the door to his house, and walked in, Toothless following.

His Dad hadn't arrived home yet, so Hiccup was alone with Toothless. He walked up the stairs to his loft and laid down on his bed. He watched Toothless breathe a small bout of fire on his slab in the corner before turning in a circle and laying down, closing his eyes.

Hiccup closed his own eyes, but he didn't feel sleep come. No, it was something different. Something he knew rather well. He had felt it a few times in the past. He really hated the feeling.

He didn't fall asleep. The darkness was different than sleep was. Sleep was peaceful and relaxing. What he was feeling now was anything but. It was an unnatural darkness. He knew he should try to keep himself awake, but it was rather impossible. Between his swimming head and blurring vision whenever he opened his eyes, trying to stay awake felt almost like a nightmare.

He didn't fall asleep.

He fell unconscious.


	12. Chapter 12

**This is my SIXTH update today. I'll keep mu A/N simple: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH! CLIFFHANGER! CLIFFHANGER! WARNING! WARNING! CLIFFHANGER OVERLOAD GET DOWN! :) Okay, enough of that. Shout-outs: **

**Wanli8970: HAHAHAHA! I'll tell Snotlout that...not that he will listen, or anything. XD! **

**silverwolvesarecool: Thanks for the review! Glad you like the chapter! YES! GO GET HELP SOMEBODY! GET ASTRID! GET STOICK! GET GOTHI! GET SOOOOMMMMEEEEOOOONNNNEEE! **

**FIF: WELCOME TO THE KILL MILDEW ORGANIZATION! (KMO for short) Your army of Red Deaths can become quite useful! Here is an instruction guide and starter back! *hands you brochure along with explosives* Knock yourself out! Well, not _you_. Knock Mildew out! YES YES YES! **

**Silver Electricity: CLIFFHANGERS AND COFFEE! NOT THE BEST COMBINATION BUT I LOOOOOOOOVVVEE THEM BOOOOOOTTTTTHHH! YES! DESTROY MILDEW! DESTROY MILDEW! MAKE HIM PPPPPPPPAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYY! HAVE SOME MORE COOOOOOOOOOFFFFFFEEEE! *hands you glass unconditionally* **

**Guest (#1): UGH! I REALLY REALLY REALLY AM STARING TO DISLIKE MILDEW EVEN MORE THAN BEFORE! I guess these types of stories will do that to you. XD! Thanks for the review! YES I think we should feel Mildew to the Snaptrappers, and then tie him to an angry skrill and have Toothless fire a couple bouts of plasma at it. Wonderful. Beautiful! Let's dddoooo iiitttt! **

Astrid had a hard time falling asleep that night. And whenever she did, she would always have a nightmare about something horrible happening concerning the Snaptrapper. Sure, Hiccup had trained it, and he was the best dragon trainer they had, but...she just couldn't get the image out of her head from the first time they had come in contact with the Snaptrapper.

Hiccup had almost died that night, and now there was no antidote for the poison caused by the Snaptrapper if it suddenly decided being trained wasn't what it wanted. The poison worked in a matter of hours, Astrid knew. Five minutes after Hiccup had been infected by it, he was unconscious. Not to mention insanely confused, including repeating himself every so often.

She was just thankful that they had had the cure. Because if they hadn't, instead of training the Snaptrapper, they would be planning Hiccup's funeral. Of course, she knew Hiccup was fine now...but really, was he?

The ten minutes after he had been bit had been the longest and worst ten minutes of Astrid's life. Which was saying a lot, since she'd _seen_ a lot. But he had been acting strange the past few days...maybe she should have been more concerned?

She rolled over her side as she thought the matter over in her head. No, it would be fine. She shouldn't have been worrying so much about the whole thing. Hiccup would come and get her if he felt bad, or something. She knew he would. Of course he would. He said he would. And he didn't take what he said lightly.

But still, she had her doubts. She had her fears. She couldn't get the image out of her head: The Snaptrapper sinking its fangs into Hiccup's side. She couldn't get Hiccup's scream out of her head: a high pitched sound that kept playing over and over in her mind. And then the image of Hiccup lying face down on the snow, groaning and crying out in pain.

She felt guilty. It had been her fault. When he first shoved her to the ground, she had gotten angry. What was he _thinking_, pushing her down like that in the middle of the fight? And then she realized that he had _saved _her, and she felt horrible. Her chest tightened when she saw the Snaptrapper drop him back onto the ground, growling in almost satisfaction before heading off to some other location.

And that same Snaptrapper was in the academy, waiting for Hiccup and the other dragon riding youths of the Berk Dragon Training Academy to teach it more commands. To teach it how to cope with people.

Wasn't fate artistic?

Astrid didn't want anything to do with the Snaptrapper, even if it was something as simple as tossing it a fish for breakfast, but Hiccup was a forgiving person. He had long forgiven that dragon for what it had done to him.

But why? Why didn't he hold a grudge? Why not get mad? Why not order for the dragon to be killed? Why not? Really why not? It wouldn't do Hiccup any harm. If it were Astrid who was in Hiccup's place, she would have demanded the Snaptrapper be put down for trying to hurt her and her friends.

But, of course, she wasn't in Hiccup's place. And since he was most affected by the Snaptrapper, it was really up to him to make the final decision.

And Astrid would have to learn to deal with it, whatever he chose.

...

Toothless perked up almost as soon as Hiccup closed his eyes. He felt something was wrong; he didn't know what it was, though. It just felt..._different_.

Worried and concerned slightly for his rider, Toothless got up and moved over to the bedside to investigate. He sniffed Hiccup. He was sleeping...but it really didn't _smell _like sleep. Not peaceful sleep. It was more of an..._unnatural _kind of sleep.

Toothless was reluctant to try, since Hiccup had seemed so dizzy and tired the previous hours, but he was worried. He gently nudged Hiccup, asking him silently to get up.

But he didn't. He didn't so much as stir. Toothless nudged him again. Still nothing. His skin was freezing; unnaturally freezing. Like his skin had turned to ice, almost. Toothless licked Hiccup, but garnered no reaction.

Panicked, Toothless turned and bolted. He didn't know where Stoick was; normally, he would be at the Great Hall, or settling some late night affairs, so getting him might not have been the best idea. But then there was Astrid. Yes, Astrid. She would know what to do! Besides, she told Hiccup that if he needed her, he could come get her. It wasn't exactly Hiccup who was going to her for help, but Toothless didn't care. He didn't know what was wrong with his master, but he could figure that it wasn't good.

Something was wrong. And Toothless was going to make sure someone was there to help Hiccup. So, he ran straight to the Hofferson residence. He went to the side of the house, and jumped through Astrid's bedroom window.

...

Astrid had just been getting close to sleep when she heard a loud _THUMP_. It was really loud; shook the whole house. Astrid sat up almost at once, instantly wondering if Stormfly had been the one to cause it, but was then surprised when she saw...Toothless? What was he doing here?

"Toothless?" she asked, getting out of bed and putting her armor on, thinking whatever reason Toothless had come, it wasn't good, and would probably involve her leaving her house. "What's the matter? What happened?"

Ignorant questions, possibly, but she asked them nonetheless. She didn't know what else to do. Toothless didn't reply. Instead, he grabbed Astrid by the back of her shirt and jumped back out the window.

Astrid almost protested, but didn't. For Toothless to be acting this strange, it had to be something unnaturally bad or out of the ordinary. Toothless dropped Astrid uncerimonaly on the ground in front of him and then ran.

"Toothless, wait up!" Astrid called, standing up and running after the Night Fury. Toothless paused, looked over his shoulder to make sure Astrid was following, and then continued on.

Astrid's mind was hazy and thick from nearing sleep, but she forced herself on. It had something to do with Hiccup, she just knew it. For Toothless to be acting this frightened...for _the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself _to be acting scared, it must have been bad.

Toothless ran exactly where Astrid had both feared and expected him to run: the Haddock residence. Now Astrid _knew _it was something about Hiccup. She had always thought it were, but now she knew for certain. Only one thing could get the Night Fury so scared: Hiccup, when he was either hurt or sick.

Astrid remembered that time Hiccup got Eel Pox, just a few weeks back. Toothless hadn't even left the house, even for food. People had to bring it to him. And even then he refused to eat it at times, because it would take his focus off his rider.

And then there was the time Hiccup had gotten himself struck by lightning. Toothless had fished him out of the ocean then, but didn't leave his side even once, even after Stoick and Gobber had assured him that Hiccup was fine.

And then there was the Red Death battle. Hiccup was out for a week then. Toothless never left, he never moved, he never ate, he just sat by Hiccup's side, waiting and worrying like a mother fussing over her hatchling.

And those were only three of the many, many times Toothless had been found sitting with Hiccup at his bedside. Now the Night Fury was scared again? It couldn't have been good.

Astrid ran through the door, following Toothless. Stoick obviously wasn't around; Toothless would have definitely gone to him for help first. Apparently, Toothless didn't think he had time to go looking for Stoick, and just went straight to Astrid instead.

That just made Astrid even more worried.

She skipped several steps as she and Toothless ran up the stairway into Hiccup's loft. Instantly, Astrid crossed the distance between her and Hiccup's bed and put her hand on Hiccup's forehead. Freezing. Colder than it had been a few hours ago. His skin felt as cold as ice. Maybe it was her imagination, but it also looked slightly blue.

She was scared out of her wits by now. She wanted to make sure he was alright. She shook his shoulder and tried to wake him up, but got no response.

"Hiccup," said Astrid. "Wake up, you stubborn Haddock." Silence. "Hiccup!" she screamed at him. Nothing.

In a panicked frenzy, Astrid found herself shouting commands at the Night Fury. "Toothless, go get Stoick, and Gothi," she ordered, the words coming out much harsher than she had originally intended. "Hurry!"

Instantly, Toothless jumped out the window, obviously not wanting to work his way back down the stairs, and headed off.

He had a friend to save.


	13. Chapter 13

**Okay, so this took me a lot longer than I wanted it to, but here it is. Chapter 13. It was hard for me to write, in all honesty, but here ya go. Hope you like it. I spent a few hours on it. :) It's my FIRST update todat, by the way, just so you know. I did quite a few yesterday, so if you missed any of those, I suggest going back. Okay, shout-outs: **

**Guest (#1): You will find all that out in chapter 14. :D It's making me a little edgy myself. And I'm the one writing it! :D **

**Silver Electricity: They do not call me "QUEEN CLIFFIE" FOR NOTHING! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! CLIFFHANGERS! CLIFFHANGERS! OI! OI! OI! Most my chapters end in cliffhangers...I don't know why. HAVE SOME MORE CCCCCCCCOOOOOOOOOOFFFFFFFFEEEEEEE! *drinks whole cup in two seconds, hands you whole six pack of coffee* COOOFFFFEEEE! YAYYAYYAYYAYYAYYAYYAYAYY! **

**silverwolvesarecool: He deserves so much more than just a Scauldron eating him! DO SOMETHING DRASTIC, BERKIANS! SOMETHING VERY, VERY DRASTIC! :D **

**freyathefearless: HERE! BORROW MY ARCHERY KIT! *hands you bow and quiver of arrows* Let's take down Mildew as one! ATTACK, DRAGONS! *charges* Glad you're liking it! You gave me the idea, so...glad you're approving of it so far! It's getting worse and worse...POOR TOOTHLESS! I feel so sorry for the poor dragon! :( POOR TOOOOOTHHHHHHHHLLLLLLLEEEEESSSSSS! And yeah, Hiccup, TELL people when you're feeling bad so THAT WAY they can HELP YOU _BEFORE _you PASS OUT! **

**Wanli8970: YES! I really don't like Mildew. My brother and I were watching "We Are Family Part 2" when Mildew was all like "I can help you, Hiccup!" We were both like "DON'T DO IT HICCUP DON'T DO IT HICCUP!" and then he just grunts in frustration and opens the lock and just says "DON'T MAKE ME REGRET THIS, MILDEW" and of course he does. XD! **

**Guest (#2): YEP! Your votes have been dialed in! Thanks!**

**AnimeAngel: WHOOP WHOOP! You called it! Congrats! :D Here's some fish for you and Aquaria! *tosses fish out to you both* YES! Let's make Mildew PPPPPPPPAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYY! ONE DOES NOT SIMPLY HURT HICCUP..._AND LIVE_. **

**Jack the Night Fury: WAKE UP, HICCUP, YOU FOOL OF A HADDOCK! HICCUP! **

**midnightsky0612: WATCH OUT, MILDEW, cause midnightsky0612's coming after you! And midnightsky0612's NOT AMUSED! NONE OF US ARE! DIE! DIE! DIE! **

**FIF: YES! DROP HIM FROM GOTHI'S HOUSE! MAKE HIM PPPPPPPPPPAAAAAAAAAAY! DIE, YOU CRAZY MILDEW! DIE! AND WE'LL KILL FUNGUS TOO! GOOD DRAGON, TOOTHLESS! HURRY! **

Toothless ran through Berk, almost hysterically. He was always crazy when something bad was happening, especially when that "something bad" concerned his rider. He went ballistic on more than one occasion.

He found Gothi first, and then bounced around, trying to tell her something was obviously wrong. Apparently, Gothi understood, which was good. She left her hut and headed towards the Night Fury's owner's house.

Satisfied, Toothless ran to get Stoick. Astrid had told him to do so, and Toothless himself thought it was a rather good idea. So, he ran to the Great Hall, and found Stoick inside.

Of course, Toothless didn't know how he would tell Stoick to go to their house, so he decided that showing him would be better. He ran straight up to the chief and stood in front of him.

"Hello, Toothless," said Stoick. "Where's Hiccup?"

Exactly, Toothless thought. Instead of trying to play charades to tell Stoick what was happening, he figured it would be easier to just take him. Toothless pulled on Stoick's arm and dragged him to the door of the Great Hall.

"Toothless, let go!" Stoick ordered. "What is wrong with you?"

Toothless was angry now. It wasn't what was wrong with him, it was what was wrong with Hiccup. So, Toothless just turned and bolted out of the Hall, knowing Stoick would follow out of curiosity and possibly worry.

And he did. Stoick ran after Toothless, and Toothless ran to the Haddock residence, hoping they weren't too late. He knew his rider had been poisoned; he could smell it. But he didn't know what type of poison it was, or how serious it was. He didn't know what the cure was, either.

Stoick didn't know what was eating Toothless, but he figured it wasn't good. Toothless rarely got worried; and when he did, it wasn't just about anything. It was usually about Hiccup, or one of Hiccup's friends. But if it were one of them, Hiccup would be with the dragon.

So it must have been Hiccup.

He followed the Night Fury as fast as his two legs would carry him. Toothless didn't waste any time at all. The only times he stopped were to turn around and make sure Stoick wasn't too far behind.

...

Astrid shook Hiccup again, garnering no reaction. What in the world...? It couldn't have been Snaptrapper venom...they got rid of that with the antidote. Then what was this all about? Why couldn't she wake him up?

Of course, she wasn't dense. She knew he was unconscious, but the question was, why? Had he just passed out? If so, what caused him to do that? If he had fallen asleep, she would have been able to wake him up without hardly any problem. He wasn't a heavy sleeper anyway. No Berkian really was.

Years and years worth of dragon attacks ensured that.

"Come on, Hiccup!" she shouted. "WAKE...UP!"

She didn't get any response.

What was wrong with him? Sure, she had known something was wrong earlier that day, but it just got worse in a matter of minutes. One minute he was fine and the next he was unconscious. It made no sense.

She had never seen any kind of poison such as this. Normally, just from what Astrid knew about poisons, they caused fevers, paleness, and sometimes unconsciousness. So far, Hiccup only had one of those three symptoms: unconsciousness. But really, unconsciousness could be caused by numerous things. It didn't have to be poison.

But then there was the temperature of his skin; it felt like ice. Literal ice. Like you were just brushing your hand against an iceberg. And he wasn't pale. His skin was slightly blue, almost. It was like he was in a freezer no one else could feel or see.

It was terrifying.

He wasn't shivering or anything, though, which was strange. Astrid paced back and forth, wondering what she should do while she waited for Gothi and Stoick to get there. She hadn't the slightest idea. Hiccup wasn't supposed to feel so freezing, but he didn't indicate that he felt anything like that at all.

She didn't know what to do; what she could do. But she knew what she had to do:...Wait. She had to wait, and just hope Gothi could give them some answers. Because if she couldn't...

She stopped herself to keep herself from thinking even more negatively than she already was. _OF COURSE _Gothi would have an answer! She always did. She would know what to do. She would. She had to.

Astrid almost cried with relief when she heard the front door open and shut rapidly. Toothless, Stoick and Gothi ran up the stairs and appeared in the doorway.

"Hiccup!" Stoick shouted. "What's wrong with him!?"

"I don't know!" Astrid replied. "He's unconscious, or something...I can't wake him up!"

Gothi moved over and placed her hand on Hiccup's forehead, expecting to feel some sort of fever burning in his body, but instead, she felt cold. Not just cold, though. Freezing. Like someone had dropped Hiccup in eight foot deep snow and left him there for a few weeks.

She quickly motioned for Stoick and Astrid to leave while she did the examination. They didn't want to, but did regardless. Toothless followed regretfully. He was supposed to be there _protecting _Hiccup! But there really wasn't anything he could do. He would just have to let Gothi work her healing, and hope it was enough.

Astrid, Stoick and the restless dragon sat downstairs. Astrid told Stoick everything she had noticed about Hiccup: the way he was telling her how it was freezing even when it was hot, the way his skin felt...everything she could remember. Stoick asked a lot of questions she couldn't answer: What was the cause of it? Who did it, if anyone? Was it an illness, or what? Some infection? Some disease? Astrid didn't know, but she kept asking those questions to herself.

When she found out who did this, she was going to make sure they paid. Paid in full.

Shortly after, Gothi walked down the stairs. Astrid and Stoick were immediately on their feet, rushing towards her with a million questions on their mind.

"What is it?" they both demanded in unison. Gothi wrote something with her staff on the ground in front of her. Astrid squinted at the writing. Fishlegs had taught her just a little tiny bit. She wanted to try it out.

"She says it's...poison," Astrid read, stuttering, hoping she translated it correctly. Gothi nodded and continued writing.

"Poison?" Stoick said. "Who in the right mind would poison Hiccup? Who has the nerves to do that?"

"Gothi says..." Astrid squinted, "she doesn't know what kind...of poison it...is. She says also...whoever poisoned him...may just have...the cure."

"When I find out who poisoned him," said Stoick, "they are going to be upgraded to personal target practice."

Gothi shook her head and wrote some more.

"She says...you might not...want to...announce that," Astrid read with slight difficulty. "It could cause...whoever poisoned him...to go...no, to _get_...scared and...destroy any...evidence. Including the cure."

"What kind of poison IS this?" said Stoick.

"Um...Gothi says she doesn't recognize it. Meaning it could be from far away islands," said Astrid. "Very...hard to...find."

"How did a Berkian find that?" Stoick questioned.

"She says...Trader Johann could have...traded some," said Astrid, "just not...knowing how...dangerous it was. But she says she doesn't know where it came from, or what kind of poison it is."

"I'm calling a meeting at the Great Hall tomorrow," said Stoick. "As soon as the sun's up. We are going to find the person who poisoned Hiccup. And then...they will either be banished, or...worse."


	14. Chapter 14

**So...this chapter, I was able to write a little quicker, enabling myself to get it out faster than that last one. :) So, this is my SECOND update today, and this story's going strong. :) Shout-outs: **

**silverwolvesarecool: WHOA! TURN INTO A SILVER WOLF! CHASE HIM! YOU CAN EVEN BORROW MY HATCHET! *tosses said object to you* MAKE MILDEW PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY! :D **

**Wanli8970: UGH! MILDEW! GET OUT OF HERE! NO BODY LIKES YOU! LET FLARA DEAL WITH YOU! YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! Wanli8970, please tell Flara she can have at Mildew whenever she wants. It's A-OK by me! :D **

**AnimeAngel: HELLO, Stoick! You are an official member of the A.M.L (Anti Mildew League). AnimeAngel and Aquaria will supply you with the explosives you will need. Me: *mods to AnimeAngel* And then Sparkglider will assist you in your assault against Mildew. **

**Guest (#1): THANK YOU! Reviews really mean a lot to me! :D **

**Silver Electricity: YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES! WE WILL PLAY DO YOU WANNA BUILD A SNOWMAN ON REPEAT FOR THREE MONTHS AND THAN PLAY LET IT GO ON REPEAT FOR SEVENTEEN AND THEN PLAY FIXER UPPER FOR TWENTY AND THEN PLAY FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FOREVER FOR FORTY AND THEN PLAY LOVE IS AN OPEN DOOR FOR ANOTHER THREE YEARS! AND THEN WE WILL KILL HIM! **

**xFaerieValkyriex: GO GET THE AXE! ANYTHING GOES! LET'S MAKE MILDEW PPPPPPPAAAAAAAAAAAAYYY! PAY! LET US BBBBUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRN HIM! BURN HIM! BBBBBBBUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRNNNN HHHHHHHHIIIIIIIIMMMMMMMMMM! (Sorry, I'm kind of crazy right now). **

**Jack the Night Fury: :) **

**midnightsky0612: YES, STOICK! LET midnightsky0612 take care of Mildew for you! Said user's an EXPERT! :D **

"Who...what...the NERVE of that guy...or girl...or WHOEVER!" Astrid shouted as she paced in front of Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut. "When I find out who did that to Hiccup, I am going to use the Snaptrapper, and tell Venomous to venom spike them, and then tell Overbite to bite them, and then tell Charcoal to whack him, and then Deathbreath to kill them. And then I'm going to send them on a raft down a waterfall where a bunch of Thunderdrums are waiting at the bottom, and then I am going to find a Boneknapper, a Skrill, and a Fireworm Queen and just tell them to go to town on him. And then I'm going to take my axe, and-"

"Whoa," said Snotlout. "Remind me never to get on your bad side."

She and the others were at Raven Point. The sun wasn't even up yet; it was still early morning. Astrid had called them together to see if they could help her figure out who had done it to Hiccup, and how they had as well, but so far, they hadn't answered any question the way she wanted them to.

"This isn't funny!" shouted Astrid. She threw her axe, allowing it to embed in the tree in front of her. "At all!"

"So you told us Gothi said Hiccup's been poisoned," said Snotlout.

"YES," said Astrid, yanking her weapon out of the tree and then hacking at the trunk. "Who...would...do...such...a...THING!?" she shouted between swings with her axe. The tree came down before she hardly thought about what she was doing. She turned and moved to the next tree.

"What did the trees do to you?" Ruffnut questioned.

"Why are you taking it out on them?" asked Tuffnut.

They were both ignored.

"I just don't understand it," said Fishlegs. "Who would poison Hiccup?"

"I don't know," said Astrid. "Stoick's calling a meeting at the Great Hall. It should start in about an hour. Hopefully, we can learn something useful about the poison, the cure, and the assassin."

...

An hour later finds all the Berkians gathered at the Great Hall (besides Hiccup, who was still unconscious and under Gothi's care for the time being), muttering to themselves about what had happened, and why the meeting had been called. No one had the correct assumption.

"Okay, quite down!" Stoick shouted to the crowd. They instantly silenced themselves, listening intently for what the Chief had to say. "This meeting is called on behalf of Hiccup."

The Great Hall was filled with whispers and mumbles of the Berkians.

"Okay, quiet!" Stoick shouted. Silence. "Now, he is unconscious, unable to come today and state his mind but I want each and every one of you searched."

"Why, Stoick!?" shouted a voice from the back of the crowd. The people parted for Mildew as he stomped forward. "Isn't it obvious who poisoned your boy? It was that Snaptrapper the academy trained!"

"He was cured from that poison," said Astrid. "It wasn't Firespit."

"Oh, but what if it wasn't enough?" said Mildew. "What if the antidote wasn't enough, huh? It was the dragon's fault!"

Shouts of agreement ran out among the crowd.

"Silence!" Stoick shouted. He got what he wanted almost instantly. "What are you saying, Mildew?"

"Well, I'm only saying one thing," said Mildew. "Banish the dragons!"

"NO!" Astrid shouted. "No! The dragons aren't the beasts we once thought them to be! Hiccup showed us that!"

"Aye, but now he's the one suffering from the dragons he put his trust in!" said Mildew. "I say we banish the dragons! Be rid of them! Get them off Berk before they have at us all!"

"STOP IT!" Snotlout demanded. "HAVE YOU ALL LOST YOUR MINDS!? Have you forgotten what these dragons have done for us!?"

"They saved Hiccup from the Red Death!" Astrid pointed out.

"They have Alvin and the Outcasts on the run every time they show themselves!" shouted Tuffnut.

"They helped us every time we have a major freeze!" shouted Ruffnut.

"They protect us!" said Fishlegs.

"Maybe they've changed their minds!" said Mildew. "Think about this, Stoick. Which is more important to you? Dragons...or your son?"

"Getting rid of the dragons won't save Hiccup's life, Mildew," said Stoick. "If anything, it would make it worse. If we are going to find the cure, we'll need the dragons."

"Think about it, Berkians!" shouted Mildew to the crowd. "Dragons are wild, dangerous beasts!"

"Oh here we go again," Gobber groaned.

"They are uncontrollable," said Mildew. "They only know to kill."

"STOP!" demanded Astrid. "STOP IT RIGHT THERE! You're WRONG, Mildew! You're WRONG!"

"You know deep down that I'm right!" said Mildew.

"About what!?" Astrid laughed. "About the dragons? Seriously, Mildew!"

"ENOUGH!" said Stoick. "This meeting is dismissed. You will all be searched, unless the guilty pardon wants to confess. We will have another meeting same time tomorrow. No acceptions."

The Berkians filed out of the Great Hall, Astrid, Snotlout, Tuffnut, Ruffnut and Fishlegs walking out last, followed by Stoick.

"You don't _really _think a Snaptrapper did that to Hiccup, do you?" Astrid asked the Chief.

"It's obvious he didn't," said Fishlegs. "Snaptrapper venom causes fevers. From what you told us at Raven Point, Astrid, it's just the opposite. Actually, I can't think of a dragon whose venom freezes its victim."

"We'll talk about this later," said Stoick. "Would you kids mind going back to my house and staying with Hiccup? Maybe help Gothi if she needs anything. I need to have a few talks with some of the villagers."

"Yes, Sir," said Astrid. "Come on, guys." She and the others turned and walked to the Haddock house. They could have just ridden their dragons, but they weren't exactly in the mood. Normally this time of morning, they would be training at the academy with Hiccup. But no. Not today they wouldn't. Who knew when the next time training would be?

Upon reaching the Haddock residence, Astrid and the others walked inside and up the stairs to Hiccup's loft. Hiccup was still laying unconscious on his bed, Gothi pacing back and forth for some unknown reason.

"Can we help you with anything, Gothi?" asked Astrid.

Gothi turned to them, and then nodded. She took her staff, and wrote out on the floor.

Fishlegs translated since he was faster and better at it. "She says she wants to try and research the poison," he said. "Look at some books, see what she can find. She wants us to stay with Hiccup and come get her if he gets worse."

"Yes, ma'am," said Tuffnut, saluting for no apparent reason. "We will guard over Hiccup. And if anyone should disagree-" He pounded his fist against his open palm. "DESTROY THEM."

Gothi bonked him on the head with her staff before leaving.

Astrid and the others took their places around Hiccup's bed, each looking at him with anxiety.

They would make whoever did this pay.


	15. Chapter 15

**OOOOOOOOOKIZZAY! (is that a word? Well, now it 'tis). IT IS I! QUEEN CLIFFIE, HERE TO DO WHAT I DO BEST! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! LOL! (I'm only half joking, in all honesty). So, this is my FIRST update today. Pretty soon, it'll all really start to soar higher into the sky. :) Shout-outs: **

**xFaerieValkyriex: Yeah, I really dislike Mildew. I loathe him for so many different reasons, especially in this particular fanfic. I don't feel sorry for him at all, but I really wonder why he hates dragons so much. I mean...did something _happen _that made him hate dragons as much as we hate him? I don't get it. *shrugs* Maybe we'll learn in Seasons 3 or 4. **

**Wanli8970: Ooooh boy. *watches as Flara disappears into the sunset*. Should someone warn Mildew? Nah, probably not. *grins* **

**Foxxlight: Thanks for the review! They really keep me going! :D **

**silverwolvesarecool: Wow...I really didn't see _that _coming. But really, Mildew was asking for it. Now I just have to go get Sparkglider (my Changewing) and go down there to retrieve my hatchet. *mounts dragon, flies off* **

**AnimeAngel: Aaah, yes, the AML. Let us recruit fellow Berkians. I'm certain they will be glad to get him off their hands. Let's give them all some of those super colossal canons you gave Stoick. Maybe Hiccup will finish his "The Mangler B #I don't remember" and take Mildew down with that as well. :) Except, maybe refrain from giving it to the Twins or Snotlout. I think that would be good... **

**Silver Electricity: THANK YOU FOR THE POOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPCCCCCCCCCCCCOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRNNN! HAVE SOME FOR YOU TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! LOVE POPCORN AND COFFEE! AND WATCHING MILDEW PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYY! *sits back, munching on popcorn and enjoying the music* AAAAAAH. AND SO IT BEGINS!**

Getting dragged into consciousness isn't always the best experience. It's normally a slow, painful process that most people don't know how to describe. A darkness; not the same as sleeping, or just closing your eyes. It's an unnatural darkness; one that cannot usually be fought over.

Astrid knew this, so she really didn't expect Hiccup to wake up anytime soon; but still, she still hoped he would. Maybe he could help her figure out who it was who poisoned him. If anyone could, it was Hiccup.

Unfortunately, he was also the victim of said poison. Astrid didn't even know if he _would _wake up. She couldn't say she was certain. Gothi had seemed pretty solemn about the entire affair; it wasn't a joke.

And then there was Toothless...

The poor Night Fury was pacing back and forth restlessly, pausing every now and then to glance back at his master with saddened eyes before continuing his frenzied pacing.

Astrid was jolted out of her thoughts when she felt Snotlout elbow her. He didn't do it harshly; it was more to get her attention than cause her pain.

"I think he's waking up..." Snotlout stated.

Astrid jerked her head back over to Hiccup, looking at him intently. She really was hoping he'd just wake up...he was scaring everyone like crazy. Hiccup groaned and opened his eyes, blinking a few times before gazing around the room.

"What are you guys doing here?" he questioned. "What happened, exactly?"

Astrid and the others were so relieved that they didn't answer for a little while. When they did, it was Fishlegs who explained.

"Gothi said someone poisoned you," he said. "Do you remember anything about something like that?"

"Um...I don't remember being poisoned," said Hiccup.

"Have you been experiencing any unnatural feelings?" Fishlegs asked.

"Like what?" Hiccup asked.

"Headaches...dizziness...unnatural exhaustion...stuff like that," said Fishlegs.

"Two out of three," said Hiccup. "Headaches and dizziness."

"When did it start?" Fishlegs questioned.

"Fishlegs, give the guy a break!" said Snotlout. "He was unconscious for nearly twelve hours!"

"Un_con_scious?" Hiccup frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Toothless came and got me yesterday night," said Astrid, "and then when I came back, I couldn't wake you up."

"Terrifying," said Hiccup. "About two days ago."

"What?" said Astrid.

"In answer to Fishlegs' question," said Hiccup. "Two or three days ago."

"Okay," said Fishlegs. "I don't see how it could be the Snaptrapper. The venom isn't infecting you anymore."

"Wait...who's blaming the Snaptrapper in the first place?" Hiccup asked, sitting up suddenly.

"Mildew," said Astrid. "He said it's the Snaptrapper we've trained's fault you're poisoned." She sat down on the bed next to him. "Do you have any idea who poisoned you?"

"Hang on a second," said Hiccup. "What did Mildew say?"

"He said it was the Snaptrapper's fau-"

"No, Astrid, his _exact _words," said Hiccup, grabbing her by the shoulders. "His EXACT words. This is _very important_."

"Ooookay," said Astrid. "He said, 'Why, Stoick!? Isn't it obvious who poisoned your boy? It was that Snaptrapper the academy trained!'"

"What did my Dad say right before that?" Hiccup questioned. "Come on, Astrid. His _exact_ words."

"He said, 'This meeting is called on behalf of Hiccup,'" Astrid started. "Then he went on, 'Now, he is unconscious, unable to come today and state his mind but I want each and every one of you searched.'"

"And then Mildew butted in?" Hiccup said.

"Yeah, although I don't see why that was so import..." She stopped herself when she realized how Hiccup was smiling. "What are _you _so happy about?"

"I FIGURED IT OUT!" Hiccup nearly screamed. "Astrid, this is GREAT!" He shook her back and forth and then jumped to his feet. "I know who poisoned me!"

"WHAT!?" the others shouted. "HOW!?"

"My Dad didn't say _anything _about _why_ I was unconscious!" said Hiccup. "So how would Mildew know-"

"Unless he was the one who did it!" Astrid shouted, finally understanding. "Hiccup, that's brilliant!"

"Come on!" he shouted. "Let's get going!"

"Where!?" the others questioned, following him as he bolted down the stairway. "Where are we going!?"

"To see a man about a poison!" Hiccup responded.

"Hiccup wait!" Astrid called.

Hiccup paused on the last step and turned around. "What?" he asked.

"Are you sure you should be getting out of bed?" said Astrid. "I mean...what if you pass out again, or something?"

"I'll try to warn you five seconds prior," said Hiccup. That didn't reassure anyone. "Now, should we go?"

He turned, jumped down the last step, and then bolted out the door, the other youths and Toothless in tow. They instantly turned and ran to find Stoick. They had a few things to tell him.

A few..._important _things.

Astrid kept her eyes locked on Hiccup the entire time. She continued to call to mind how he had passed out the night before...but at the time he just seemed so excited he had solved the "mystery" she decided not to crush his enthusiasm by ordering him back to bed.

"You sure you have proof to back this up?" Astrid asked.

"Well, I assume my Dad called a meeting, right?" Hiccup asked.

Astrid nodded. "Yes," she said.

"Meaning the _entire _village heard what Mildew said," said Hiccup. "It is the _only _explanation, since no one else besides my Dad, you and Gothi knew about how I was poisoned. Mildew was the one who poisoned me."

"Did he give you anything, or come around you anytime, or something?" Astrid asked.

"_Exactly_," said Hiccup. "That's another sliver of evidence. He offered me water the afternoon before I started feeling symptoms of the poison."

"Well, that would do it," said Snotlout, running beside his cousin.

"So, are you going to press charges?" said Ruffnut.

"Press charges against whom?" Hiccup asked.

"Mildew," said Tuffnut. "He did poison you, after all. If someone poisoned me, I would _totally _press charges."

"I don't know," said Hiccup. "I guess I'll have to think about it."

Pushing it to the back of his mind, he and his friends continued to run. More than likely, he wouldn't press any charge against Mildew. He probably had the cure, meaning no harm done.

Right?


	16. Chapter 16

**So far, this is THE LONGEST chapter in the fanfic. :D And, I know I didn't update hardly at all yesterday and the day before, so TODAY, I plan to get back on schedule, even though I don't really have one. XD! So, this is my FIRST update today, and I've got SO MUCH more planned for this story it's almost crazy. :D SO, hope you guys like it! :) **

Maybe it was just wishful thinking on his part. Maybe he should have been more rational about the entire affair. Maybe...just maybe...he should have been feeling a bit more..._let down? _Bummed out?

I say "maybe" because he didn't feel any of those things mentioned above. In fact, he felt slightly excited. Maybe that was wrong, too, since really he was poisoned and would have been destined to die hadn't the poisoner had the cure...

It hadn't really occurred to Hiccup until that moment. What if there _wasn't _a cure? He would...

There was no positive way to finish that statement.

His mind began taking darker turns as he ran alongside the other dragon riders. Once again, they didn't ride their dragons. They were still holding on to the teeny tiny hope that there was a cure.

Because if there wasn't...

Once again, no way to finish that sentence without being the voice of doom.

Astrid ran right along Hiccup, the rest of the riders a few steps behind them. Toothless was just a tad in front of them, although he kept looking over his shoulder to make sure the others were following. Maybe it was foolish of them not to use their dragons, but they really didn't care. They thought it was possible it could have been easier to find Stoick on the ground than looking from the sky.

"Slow down!" Snotlout panted from behind them. "We can't...keep up..."

"You can't keep up with a one-legged amputee?" Astrid turned around, running backwards as she spoke. "I'm surprised at you, Snotlout!"

"Guys, would you leave the leg _out _of this," Hiccup prompted. "What does my prosthetic have to do with anything?"

Instead of replying, they ran faster, towards the Great Hall, hoping they could find Stoick. On their way, Hiccup thought of something.

"You guys go ahead to the Great Hall," he said. "I have to go do something."

"What?" the others replied, coming to a stop beside Hiccup.

"What _something_?" Snotlout asked.

"Before, I saw Mildew toss evidence in the ocean," said Hiccup, recalling the time Mildew blamed the dragons for vandalism. "If my Dad made that big speech about the poison..."

"Then Mildew probably went to destroy all evidence!" Fishlegs figured out, his voice rising with every word.

"Coooorect," said Hiccup. "So I should go and see what he's up to. The rest of you, get to the Great Hall and get my Dad. Tell him what's happening, tell him to get to Mildew's house as quick as possible."

"Well, I should go with you," said Astrid. "Just in case you pass out, or something."

"No, I can sneak up on Mildew better if I'm alone," said Hiccup. "Plus, I'm really the stealthiest here when you think about it. Besides, I know Mildew's house. If he hasn't already gotten rid of the evidence, I think I have some ideas where he would hide it."

Astrid didn't want to leave him alone for even a second, but she knew he had a point. No use arguing with him.

"Fine," she decided. She wanted to get Stoick as quickly as possible. The sooner they got him, the sooner they could get back to Hiccup. "Just go, and be careful. If Mildew can poison you, there's no telling what else he can do."

"Yeah, got that," said Hiccup. "Hurry!" With that, he turned and ran off in the direction of Mildew's house, Toothless following in close pursuit.

"No, Toothless," said Hiccup, stopping and holding a hand out to his dragon. "You can't follow me so close like that. Keep your distance. Pretend you're not following me. The last thing we need is for Mildew to think you're going to attack him."

Toothless waited until Hiccup ran a few feet ahead, and then followed as close as he could without getting too close.

Astrid and the others jumped on their dragons, now not wanting to waste one single second, and heading to the Great Hall, telling their dragons to move as fast as they possibly could. The dragons must have felt the urgency of the situation, because they flew all the faster.

Astrid was the first to arrive at the Great Hall on Stormfly, followed by Snotlout on Hookfang, Fishlegs on Meatlung, and then Ruffnut and Tuffnut on Barf and Belch. Thornado was standing beside the steps, indicating that Stoick was there. They dismounted, and ran up the stairs.

Swinging the doors to the Hall open, they shouted in unison, "Stoick! It's important!"

The Chief hadn't been expecting this, especially since he had told them to watch over Hiccup. He knew by the tone of their voices that something was wrong. He instantly made their way over to them, and then ran to him as well to save time.

"Hiccup woke up!" Astrid shouted.

"Yeah, and he figured out who it was that poisoned him!" said Snotlout.

"Hiccup's awake?" Stoick shouted, a mix between happiness and concern. "Where is he?"

"He's heading to Mildew's house," said Astrid.

"Why!?" said Stoick.

"He found out that Mildew was the one who poisoned him," said Snotlout.

"How on _Earth _did he do that?" said Stoick. "He was unconscious most the time!"

"Yeah, but I told him what you had said during the meeting, and get a load of this," said Astrid. "You said Hiccup was unconscious, but you didn't say _why_."

"And then Mildew stepped up and said something about Hiccup being poisoned because of the Snaptrapper," said Snotlout.

"Exactly," said Astrid. "And how would Mildew know Hiccup was poisoned, unless he was the one who did it?"

"That's brilliant logic, Astrid!" said Stoick. "I don't know how I didn't catch that before."

"I didn't figure it out," said Astrid. "Hiccup...did. Oh, right. Hiccup. He told us to come get you, and then head up to Mildew's house. He's looking for evidence, maybe even a cure. He really needs some more to back up the theory. You need more than words to charge someone with treason."

"You're right, Astrid," said Stoick. "We should get going."

They turned and ran out of the Great Hall, mounted their dragons, and headed off to Mildew's. They had quite a few things to discuss.

...

Toothless waited on one of the rocks, looking down at Mildew's house, making sure he kept Hiccup in sight. Hiccup gave the dragon a quick thumbs up, and then hid behind the house.

His breath rang in his ears as he made for the back door. He felt like he was snooping, but really, he hadn't been given the choice. Mildew had brought this _all _upon himself. Hiccup was just what the old man used.

Hand shaking as he gripped the door handle, Hiccup pulled it open, wary of how it creaked, and really hoping Mildew wasn't there to hear it. He was relieved when he found that the house was empty; if Mildew wasn't already there, he would be in just a few minutes.

Hiccup began searching for anything poison or cure wise. He knew Mildew had something; maybe even a book, or bottle, or vital or _something_. Anything, really. There hadn't been enough time for him to reach his house and dispose of obvious evidence.

Before he had much of a chance to do any searching around the reeking house, the front door creaked, indicating someone was opening it. Hiccup moved back out the way he came, shutting the door almost silently behind him. He pressed his ear to the wall, hoping to pick up some sort of clue onto where that evidence was.

He heard footsteps, indicating that obviously it was Mildew who had arrived. No one in the right mind (except maybe Hiccup, since he was there, after all) would ever want to spend any time at Mildew's house. It was very..._mildewy_, to say the least.

"Well, looks like they didn't find me out, Fungus," Hiccup heard Mildew speak to his sheep. He really wondered who had named the animal. Fungus? Fungus and Mildew, he guessed they were meant to be together.

"Those Hooligans aren't smart enough to figure out our plans," said Mildew. Hiccup heard rummaging; someone was digging through a box, or a drawer, or something. "Lucky they didn't find _this_, isn't it, Fungus?"

The sheep baad in what Hiccup could only figure was agreement. He really wished he was on the other side of the wall. What was Mildew talking about, "Lucky they didn't find _this_"?

He heard the front door open and close again, along with the silence that followed. Hiccup could only figure what was going to happen: Mildew was disposing of evidence. The same way he disposed of the evidence when the dragons were blamed for vandalism...

No, Hiccup absolutely _refused _to let that happen again. He moved to the side of the house, and then looked as Mildew approached the side of the cliff in front of his house, holding something that looked like a satchel over the side.

"They'll never find out, Fungus," said Mildew. "Never. And if they ever do...it will be far, far too late."

He dropped the satchel into the ocean. Hiccup listened as it smashed into the deep water below. No retrieving _that_ without a dragon. Speaking of dragon...Hiccup looked back over to make sure Toothless was still keeping watch. The Night Fury was, his keen eyes scanning, hating Mildew even more than before.

Hiccup could have run like he had done before. He could have just left without Mildew knowing; get some help. But he refused to do that, too. He wouldn't run. Last time he did that, all he did was _nothing_. He wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

"Foolish Hooligans," Mildew said, rubbing his hands together. "They will never know."

"That's what you think!" Hiccup shouted, finally deciding to make his appearance. Mildew wiped around so fast it almost sent him tumbling down the cliff. "And I'm just some foolish, mindless Hooligan, according to you, right?"

"You really like to sneak up on people, don't you, boy?" said Mildew.

"Only the ones who deserve it," said Hiccup. "And _don't _try to explain yourself, because I know full well what you are doing. I _know _what you did, Mildew, and I even know why you did it, too. To blame my illness on the dragons? Ha." He walked forward casually. Mildew would never hurt him in any other way besides poison. Not with Toothless watching from so close...

"I may be easily fooled," said Hiccup; "easily tricked; easily manipulated. But I'm definitely not _dense. _You poisoned me, Mildew. Don't you _dare_ try to deny it."

"Whatever are you talking about, Hiccup?" said Mildew, still trying for innocence.

"You know what I'm talking about," Hiccup snapped.

"So _what_?" said Mildew. "It will be my word against yours! I've been on Berk longer than you've been alive, Hiccup. Do you really expect people to believe you over _me_?"

"I didn't say they would believe me," said Hiccup. "But there's no denying the truth. I have evidence, Mildew, too. You can't put a fight against solid evidence."

"Oh yeah?" said Mildew. "_What _evidence?"

"Toothless," Hiccup said, turning to his Night Fury. "Retrieve the satchel from the ocean."

Toothless nodded and then jumped down the cliff, gliding slightly before searching the ocean for whatever it was Mildew had dropped.

As soon as Toothless was gone, Mildew drew a dagger out of no where.


	17. Chapter 17

**This is my SECOND update today. I will be doing two more in a somewhat rapid session, so...yeah. :) Hope you're all enjoying this story as much as I am enjoying writing it. :) Have fun! **

On instinct, Hiccup took a step back as Mildew held it out in front of him.

"You're a clever boy, Hiccup," said Mildew.

"Thank you," said Hiccup.

"That was _not a compliment!_" Mildew shouted. Hiccup took another step back. Mildew took another step forward. Hiccup wrapped his hand around his knife hilt on instinct, not really thinking about what he was doing.

"You wouldn't hurt me," said Hiccup. "You know the price of hurting the heir of Berk is death, don't you?"

"Yes, of course I do," said Mildew. "I wouldn't hurt you unless I had to. In this case, I do. You know too much, Hiccup."

"So you'll kill me, and then do what?" said Hiccup. "Leave? Blame it on someone...oh." He finally understood. Mildew was going to find a way to make it look like a dragon had killed him. And then...after that...Berk would _never ever _trust a dragon _ever _again.

"You know, you're clever too, Mildew," said Hiccup. "Let's see your skills with a blade."

He drew his knife, and held it out in front of him. He gripped it so tightly that his knuckles turned white, his fingers red. Mildew was the first to advance. Hiccup met him in battle. Mildew was old, though. Clumsy. He wasn't too fast. Unlike Hiccup.

Unfortunately, Hiccup was only sixteen. He hadn't known battles, or practiced strategies as much as Mildew had. Mildew had the moves, Hiccup had the speed. He wanted to call to Toothless, but then he would endanger the dragon. Besides, he knew his friends would get there soon...

Or, at least he _hoped _they did.

Before Hiccup knew what was happening, Mildew had him in a headlock. Hiccup dropped his dagger and tried to wrestle away from him, but Mildew was stronger than Hiccup had given him credit for.

Thankfully, Mildew had dropped his dagger to perform the headlock. At least he wouldn't be able to kill him quickly, like he had anticipated.

And then Hiccup couldn't breathe. Mildew was strangling him. What a sorry way to die. Hiccup tried to call out for Toothless, since Mildew had dropped his weapon and now couldn't hurt the dragon (unless he was crazy enough to try and take it in a headlock, in which case would _NOT _make Toothless any less aggravated).

Hiccup was sure he was going to die, when he heard shouts from above. He released a breath as Mildew dropped him almost instantly. Hiccup pushed himself up on his palms, gasping and trying to regain his breath.

"Mildew!" shouted Stoick as he landed Thornado. The other youths landed, dismounted, and instantly ran over to Hiccup. Stoick was going to, but he wanted to see if Mildew had anything to share.

"Hiccup!" Astrid shouted as she sat down in front of him. "What happened?"

"Mil...dew..." Hiccup made out between gasps, "tr...ied...t-to...kill...me..."

"HE TRIED TO WHAT!?" This came from everyone, besides Mildew. Mildew ran up to Stoick.

"Oh thank goodness you're here!" he exclaimed, making his voice sounding pathetic as ever (which just made Hiccup loathe him more). "If you had arrived just seconds later, Hiccup would have killed me!"

Instantly, all eyes were on Mildew, and then shifted to Hiccup.

"You have ten seconds to explain yourself before I throw you in Berkian Prison," Stoick threatened.

"I was just coming home, after a long day," said Mildew, "and this...this..._hooligan-_" he pointed to Hiccup, "jumps out of no where with a dagger and tries to kill me. See his weapon on the ground over there."

"Then why did you have Hiccup in a headlock?" Astrid questioned downright rudely. Hiccup could tell by her voice she didn't believe a word of it. Hiccup? Violent? Please. You were more likely to see a yak grow wings and fly.

"Because I had to!" said Mildew. "The boy's gone mad!"

"IT WAS A MATTER OF SELF DEFENSE!" said Hiccup.

Once again, he had all the attention. Most of which he didn't want.

"Explain yourself, son," said Stoick. Hiccup could tell also that he didn't believe a word of what Mildew was saying.

"Mildew pulled the dagger I pulled the knife," said Hiccup. "If you can notice, Mildew's weapon is over there-" he pointed a few feet away, "-which he dropped when he grabbed me in a headlock. I dropped my weapon to fight back."

"Lies!" shouted Mildew. "Are you going to believe this boy, over someone who's been on Berk decades longer than him?"

"Hiccup is more trustworthy than you'll ever be, Mildew," Astrid snapped. "And Hiccup fighting you first? Oh please. Hiccup couldn't hurt a fly!"

"And if he did," Snotlout added, "he'd feel guilty about it and give it a funeral!"

"But he's technically sick, isn't he?" Mildew asked. "All around insane."

Hiccup couldn't stand it. He could be called useless, worthless, dense, idiotic...but not when someone was trying to make his father believe an unbelievable lie. He couldn't take it. He wasn't going insane. He wasn't mad in the crazy sense.

Now mad in the angry sense?

He jumped up and tried to run forward. Astrid grabbed him and held him back just so he didn't try anything crazy.

"Tell them the truth, Mildew!" Hiccup shouted. "Tell...them...the..._TRUTH_!"

"Get on with it, Mildew," said Snotlout. He knew Mildew was lying...everyone did...he just wanted to hear the old man shout it for himself. "You have ten seconds. TEN..." Snotlout began counting off.

"This is outrageous!" said Mildew. "You guys have to believe me!"

"NINE!" Snotlout counted off.

"It's insane! Insane I tell you!" shouted Mildew, still going for the Mr. Innocent routine.

"EIGHT!" Snotlout shouted.

"You have no proof that I did any of that!" said Mildew.

"SEVEN!" shouted Snotlout.

"This is crazy!" said Mildew. "You can't expect me to actually _hurt _Hiccup, now do you?"

"SIX!" Snotlout continued to count down.

"Give it up, Mildew!" demanded Astrid. "Just tell us the truth! What happened here? No lies, either. The solid truth."

"FIVE!" Now Fishlegs joined in counting down with Snotlout.

"You're all insane!" Mildew shouted. "You're not thinking clearly! You're not in your right state of mind! Can we discuss this later or-"

"FOUR!" shouted Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Snotlout and Fishlegs in perfect unison.

"Mildew!" Hiccup shouted. "It's too late! You might as well give up!"

"THREE!" the others chorused.

"Might as well what!? I didn't do anything!" said Mildew, almost pathetically. "You all have to believe me!"

"TWO!"

"We don't, Mildew!" said Stoick. "What happened!?"

"ONE..." They held it out, waiting for Mildew to say something. "ZERO..."

"OKAY!" Mildew shouted. "I'll tell you the truth! I did it! Hiccup was snooping, so I thought he was someone else, and I attacked him."

"WHAT!?" Hiccup shouted. "You said you would tell them the _truth_, Mildew. You and I both know the _truth_, but we want to hear it from you. Give you a chance to confess."

"Hiccup, this is a big deal," Astrid whispered to him. "If what you said was true...which it is...that means Mildew will be-"

"I know," said Hiccup. "I don't want it to happen, but...after today...I don't think we have a choice." He turned and shouted to Mildew. "Poisoning me is one thing!" he said. "But trying to kill me, and blame it on a dragon is another!"

"You have no proof that I did either of those things!" said Mildew.

As if on cue, a Night Fury screech rang in the air.

"I think I just might," said Hiccup.

Toothless jumped onto the ledge, something dangling out of his mouth. He looked at Hiccup and dropped it at his feet.

"Thanks, bud," said Hiccup. He picked it up to examine it.

"D-don't touch that!" said Mildew. "That's my property!"

"Then why was it in the ocean?" Astrid challenged. She smirked when Mildew didn't answer. "What is it, Hiccup?"

"A satchel," Hiccup answered. "I saw Mildew throw it in the ocean."

"What?" Mildew said. "Why would I do that?"

"To hide _this_." On the last word, Hiccup opened the satchel and pulled out a small, empty vial. He pulled the cork out, and then held it out to Toothless. He smelled it, and then growled.

"You see?" said Hiccup. "Poison."

"You could have just trained your dragon to growl on command," said Mildew. "How do we know?"

"All dragons know what poison smells like," said Hiccup. "Most dragons have poison themselves as well. Astrid-" Hiccup handed her the vial and then gestured to Stormfly. Astrid walked over to her dragon, and then held up the bottle. Instantly, Stormfly recoiled, roared, and backed away two steps.

Fishlegs did the same thing with Meatlung, and then gave it to Snotlout and the twins to do with their dragon. They each garnered the same reaction.

"Poison," said Hiccup. "And Mildew just clearly stated that it is his property."

"What is this all about, Mildew?" said Stoick, approaching the old man.

"Okay, I'll admit it," said Mildew. "I poisoned him, but it was for a good cause!"

"What cause, Mildew!?" Stoick shouted.

"Getting rid of the dragons!" said Mildew.

"Are you saying you would poison the heir of Berk, to get rid of a few _dragons_!?" Astrid shouted angrily. "What are you _thinking!?_"

"I assume you have the cure, then," said Snotlout. "You wouldn't poison him without the cure."

"Would I?" Mildew asked. "There is no cure."


	18. Chapter 18

**So, this chapter's a little bit on the short side, but I really thought I found a good place to end it, so...yeah. :) If you like cliffhangers, that is. XD! So, this is my THIRD update today, and I hope you enjoy! :D **

Something snapped inside most the dragon riders. At that moment, they just wanted to toss Mildew in the ocean and be done with him, but they knew they couldn't do that. They would have to lock Mildew in prison until a proper sentence could be handed down.

I say "most the dragon riders" because Hiccup felt the exact opposite.

He felt crushed. That little sliver of hope he was holding onto his every waking moment withered away as if it had never existed. He wasn't afraid. No, he was _terrified_. Mildew had poisoned him, and had just now stated that there was no cure.

He was going to die.

Of course, that wasn't the biggest of his worries. He didn't know what dying felt like, and he wasn't too thrilled that he was going to figure out in just a small matter of time, either. But right now, they had questions to ask, answers to receive, and punishments to divvy out.

"What kind of poison was it, Mildew!?" Astrid snapped; the first person to speak since the truth had been blurted. "What kind of poison!?"

"I don't know," said Mildew.

"You have five seconds," said Snotlout. "ONE..."

"No no!" Mildew shouted. "I say, I don't know! I'm serious about this one! You have to believe me!"

They were just about to question him again, when the person they had least expected to speak spoke.

"He's not lying," said Hiccup. All eyes were on him. "He really doesn't know. I can tell."

"Yes!" said Mildew. "I got it from Trader Johann. He said he had no idea what it was. Said some person just gave it to him, free of charge, so he gave it to me free of charge. I didn't know what it was until I figured it out."

"_You don't say?" _Hiccup almost said out loud.

"Poison," said Mildew. "So, after Hiccup was bit by the Snaptrapper and cured, it gave me the perfect idea. Poison him, blame it on the dragons."

"But why?" said Astrid. "Why kill Hiccup just to get rid of some dragons!?"

"I'm calling a meeting at the Great Hall," said Stoick. "Mildew, you're coming with me."

Stoick and Mildew headed off, while Hiccup and the other dragon riders remained.

"I can't believe it!" Astrid shouted. "There is a cure. There has to be a cure!"

"I know, right!?" said Snotlout. "We'll find it! We have to find it! It shouldn't be too hard, really, now should it?"

"No," said Tuffnut. "Not when you guys have US on your side!"

"Yeah!" Ruffnut agreed. She and her brother conked heads like they did while celebrating.

"Where did Johann get the poison...?" Hiccup whispered to himself.

"What was that?" asked Astrid.

"Where did Johann get that poison?" Hiccup repeated, louder so his friends could hear him. "If we can find out where the poison came from, maybe we can find a cure." He was still hoping for the best, even though at that moment everything seemed like it couldn't get any worse.

"Hey yeah!" said Astrid. "That's great!" Hiccup could tell by her voice that she was really just simply trying to stay in the positive way of thinking. She was saying the opposite of what she thought, and Hiccup could tell, but he didn't say anything about it. "But when will we see Trader Johann next-"

"Trader Johann's here!" they heard someone shout.

"Well, looks like we have an opening," said Hiccup. "Should we take it?"

"You bet we should take it!" said Snotlout. "Let's get going!"

"And hopefully Johann can tell us something useful," said Astrid. "Let's hurry!"

The six of them turned, jumped on their dragons, and then headed off to the docks.

Trader Johann was just mooring his ship when the riders arrived.

"Aaah, Berk!" said Johann. "My favorite of the islands this side of the archipelago. Hello, my friends! Feel free to look around!"

"Are you sure he knows?" Astrid asked.

"No," said Hiccup. "But right now, we're not sure about a lot of things. Can't hurt to try."

They steered their dragons downwards, and then landed in front of the docks. Dismounting, the six youths ran forward, their dragons trailing close behind.

"Master Hiccup!" Johann greeted. "It's great to see you, lad. What can I do for you?"

"Um...it's great to see you too, Johann, but we really need to talk," said Hiccup.

"Aaah, of course!" said Johann. "What are you looking for?"

"An answer," said Astrid. "Please, we really, really need to talk. It's urgent."

"It's really a matter of life or death," said Snotlout.

"Oh," said Johann, looking around as if to make sure no one else was watching or listening. "Well, certainly. What do you need to talk about?"

"We need to do it in private," said Hiccup. "Johann, you have no idea how important this discussion will be."

"Well...okay," said Johann. "Where should we talk?"

"Fishlegs," said Hiccup, "stay here until we get back. Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut...don't break anything. Astrid, come with me. Johann, come with us."

Hiccup and Astrid turned and walked, Johann following closely.

"What's this all about?" said Johann in a calm, steady manner. "Did I do something? Is something wrong, or...?" His voice trailed off.

"No, and yes," said Hiccup. "You didn't do anything, Johann, but something _is _wrong. Very, very wrong."

"Okay," said Johann. He followed Astrid and Hiccup to the forge. Hiccup first looked in to make sure it was unoccupied, and then motioned for Johann and Astrid that it was okay. They walked in, and stood with Hiccup, Astrid standing right beside them, Johann standing in front of them.

"What's this all about, lads?" Johann asked. "Please tell me."

"Okay," Hiccup hesitated slightly and stepped forward just a little bit. He looked at Astrid, and she nodded. "Okay, here goes." Hiccup took a deep breath, really not wanting to continue, but knowing he had to. "Johann, I'm dying."


	19. Chapter 19

**SOOOO this is THE SHORTEST chapter in the fanfic (it doesn't even reach five hundred words), but I really liked the way it is, and didn't want to add to it until the next chapter. I found a good stopping point on it, soooo...yup. Here ya go. This is my FOURTH update today, so if you missed updates one, two and three, I suggest going back. They are crucial to the story. :D Enjoy! **

Hiccup shut his eyes, Astrid sighed, and Johann stared at them as if they had just told him a dragon swooped down, grabbed a ukulele and danced the "Hokey-Pokey."

"Dying?" Johann repeated, just to make sure he heard them right. Hiccup sighed, and Astrid nodded. "What do you mean _dying_?"

"I mean dying," said Hiccup. "On the point of death...? To stop living...? Pass away, lose one's life, cease existing-"

"I know what dying means, Master Hiccup," said Johann. "But I don't know exactly what _you _mean."

"Sit down, please," said Hiccup. "We have a lot to talk about."

And so they told him. They told him everything from the Snaptrapper a few days ago to the events of that same afternoon. Hiccup added a few things here and there, but it was mostly Astrid who did all the explaining.

"And that's when you showed up," Astrid concluded. "We needed to ask you about the poison. Where did you get it, exactly?"

"Ahh, strange fellow in the North," said Johann. "I have a map, I think..." He reached into his satchel and pulled out a rolled up, crumpled piece of paper. He held it out, and Hiccup took it gingerly and unrolled it. "He didn't say much. Waved my boat down, just gave me the vial, didn't tell me what it was. I didn't know it was poison. If I had, you know I would have never taken it in the first place."

Hiccup studied the map, holding it forward, and then turning it sideways.

"Where exactly, Johann?" he asked.

"There," Johann said as he pointed to a place on the map. Hiccup laid it down on the table and looked at the area Johann pointed to.

"Healer's island," Hiccup determined. "Wait...Healer's island?"

"How would someone find a deadly poison on Healer's island?" Astrid questioned.

"Astrid, you know an overdose of a medicine can easily kill a human," said Hiccup. "Simple. Grab a bunch of healing property herbs, mix them up, and _oopsy-daisy_: Death."

"Oopsy-daisy Death?" Johann repeated.

"Sorry, that was bizarre," said Hiccup. "Anyways, you guys know that an overdose can kill, and taking different medicines at the same time, overdosing all of them, can kill as well. Simple explanation to all this. But who was the man who gave it to you, and why?"

"Can you describe him, Johann?" Astrid asked.

Johann shook his head. "I'm sorry, lads," he said. "He was wearing a black hood over his head, and it didn't help that it was during a rain storm in the middle of the night. He called himself something, though. Something he said was important."

"What did he call himself?" said Hiccup.

"He called himself," said Johann, "_Deranged_."


	20. Chapter 20

**So this chapter's a little longer then that last one, so YAY! This is my FIFTH update today, and I really hope you guys like this story so far. I have a bunch more in store for it, most of which I can bet you probably won't expect. :) Enjoy the chapter! **

Hiccup dropped his gaze, and then looked uncertainly at Astrid. She frowned in his direction as realization hit her.

"I don't know if the name means anything to you..." said Johann, his voice trailing off as he waited for either Hiccup or Astrid to respond.

"Yes, it does," said Hiccup. "Thank you, Johann. You have been very helpful." It wasn't sarcasm, but it didn't sound like he was being entirely serious, either. More as if he were spitting the words out just for the sake of saying them. "Come on, Astrid," said Hiccup. "We have to go."

"I'm sorry, lad," said Johann.

"Don't be, Johann," said Hiccup. "You didn't do anything. You didn't know what you gave to Mildew was poison. You can go on and return to your ship if you want. Thanks again. I need to go somewhere." He grabbed Astrid by her wrist and ran out of the forge. She followed unceremoniously, trying to keep up with him.

Hiccup turned the corner suddenly, yanking Astrid with him. He sat down on a bench, his elbows resting on his legs.

"Hiccup?" said Astrid. "What's-"

"Dagur's trying to kill me, you know," said Hiccup. "He's been behind this all along. Don't you see? He gave Johann the poison in hopes one of us Berkians would pick it up. There's no way he would have known it was me who would take it, but I could guess he was hoping it all along."

Astrid stared at him in momentary confusion. "What are you saying?" she finally discovered the courage to ask.

"There's no cure, just like Mildew said," said Hiccup. "Or else he would have done something more drastic. Why would he try to kill one of us with a poison that has a cure?"

Astrid's face fell. "You don't know that," she said. "Maybe Gothi can dig something up? We'll figure it out-"

"There's nothing else to figure out, Astrid," said Hiccup. "I'd really hate to be the voice of doom, but there's nothing we can do."

"We can try," said Astrid. "Just like you said earlier."

"But that was when we had hope," said Hiccup.

"And we don't now?" Astrid asked, almost accusingly.

"No, we don't!" Hiccup stood up and paced back and forth. "We have wishes, not hope. They have a vast difference, Astrid. A vast difference!"

"Some wishes come true," said Astrid flatly.

"Oh for the love of..." Hiccup tried to find something to say. "Astrid, what are you trying to say? Are you trying...to get my hopes up? Are you trying to tell me to wish upon a star? Because...that certainly _won't _work."

"Well sitting here like downed Terrible Terrors won't help, either," said Astrid.

"What are we going to do?" said Hiccup. "We...it's not like...it's not like we have some brilliant _lead _to guide us like a red line through the forest, Astrid! What lead do we have that we can actually use for something other than simply stating we have a lead?"

"I don't know!" said Astrid. "You're not really being the most uplifting at the moment!"

"What do I have to be uplifting about?"

"Something good!"

"Okay...I'm alive. I'm poisoned, dying, but alive. Lucky me!"

"Now you're just being sarcastic!"

"I'm not! I'm being serious about being alive! I thought I would be dead by now!"

Astrid stared at Hiccup in silence as soon as the words left his mouth. Hiccup shook his head and sat down back on the bench again, folding his hands loosely.

"I can feel it, Astrid," said Hiccup, his voice low and almost depressing. "I can _feel _myself dying. I can't explain it...earlier today, I was certain I had died and all this was just some weird dream."

Astrid still remained silent.

"It's unexplainable," Hiccup ranted on, meeting Astrid's eyes, although clearly he wanted to do the exact opposite. "But I _can _feel it. The poison's killing me, Astrid. You know that. My Dad knows that. _Everyone _I'm close to knows that. Why don't you guys just stop pretending?"

No response from Astrid.

"I know I'm dying," said Hiccup. "Of course, there's nothing _I _can do about it. Actually, there's nothing _you _can do about it. There's nothing Snotlout, or the twins, or Fishlegs, or my Dad, or the whole of Berk can do about it. Unless...there _is _a cure, like you've been saying...but what are the chances of that?"

Astrid remained silent.

"I'm not mad at you," said Hiccup. "I want to make sure you know that. But...you have to understand where I'm coming from. What would you do in my situation? You'd be the same, if you would be honest about it. I'm sorry. I'm just...not really in a good mood."

Silence.

"Say something!" said Hiccup. "Anything! Am I right? Am I wrong? Am I crazy? Go on! Shout! Tell me I'm wrong! Yell at me! Say _SOMETHING_!"

"I'm sorry," Astrid pretty much whispered.

Hiccup stood up and sighed. "Don't be," he said. "It's not your fault. I'm sorry I yelled."

"Don't be sorry," said Astrid. "It's hard. But don't go saying there's no hope. I'll find the cure if I never sleep again."

Hiccup smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. It was more of a nervous smile than a joyful one. "Well, thanks," he said. "Means a lot to me."

He stepped forward and hugged her. At first, the temperature of his body shocked her once again, and she could only stand there, feeling the freezing cold heatlessness of his skin. But an instant later, she had her arms wrapped around him as well.

A few seconds later, they parted their embrace.

"You should go to bed and get some rest," said Astrid.

"Yeah, I think I should," said Hiccup. "Starting to feel strange again."

"I'll see if Gothi has any ideas," said Astrid. "Come on. Let's get you home."

And so they did. A few seconds after Hiccup got in his bed, he was either asleep or unconscious, Astrid didn't know. At that point, she decided they didn't have much time. His body felt even colder than before when she hugged him earlier, which terrified her. She had thought it was impossible to be that freezing and also be alive, but she was wrong.

She remembered how vulnerable Hiccup sounded while talking to her about the poison. She noticed the hopelessness in his voice; the way he almost sounded desperate for an answer; a way out of it. He had narrowly escape death a fair few times in his life, but this was one he feared he couldn't escape without it catching him again.

She really hoped Mildew got what he had asked for. And after Mildew got that, she would find Dagur, and then give to him what he had asked for, too. But right now, she didn't have time to think about Mildew, or Dagur.

With a fear most people didn't know how to explain, she bolted down the stairs, out the door, and ran off to find Gothi.


	21. Chapter 21

**This is my SIXTH update today, and I am so excited! This story's only been up for four days, and already, I'm having so much fun! :D After this, I'll probably do a few stories. Probably starting with "Snowed In", with a few others following. :) I'm excited. :D Enjoy chapter 21! **

She crashed into Snotlout and the twins. Quite literally.

She turned a corner and smashed into them, resulting in them both falling backwards onto the ground.

"Astrid!" said Snotlout. "We were just looking for you!"

"Why?" said Astrid. "I can't stop. I have to go-"

"So do we!" said Snotlout.

"Why?" said Astrid.

"Let's say they angered the Trader," said Fishlegs as he walked up behind them. "I told Snotlout he shouldn't trust that glass vase, but _noooo_. He doesn't listen to me."

"Can we talk about this later?" said Astrid. "I need to see Gothi."

"Why?" said Fishlegs, the twins, and Snotlout in unison as they followed her after she raced off. "What's wrong?"

"Do I really need to answer that question?" said Astrid. She groaned when she garnered no reaction. "Hiccup!" she said angrily, not believing they would actually forget.

"I was just about to ask you about that!" said Fishlegs. "How's he doing?"

"Not good," said Astrid. "I have to talk to Gothi about a cure."

"Wait a minute!" said Snotlout, panting as they ran. "What did Johann say about the poison? Did he do _anything _to help you guys _at all_?"

"The poison came from Healer's island," said Astrid. "Or...somewhere else. Dagur gave it to Johann, Johann took it, not knowing what it was, Mildew got his hands on it, and then poisoned Hiccup."

"I guess that mystery's solved," said Snotlout.

"We have another one, though," said Astrid. "What's the cure?"

They called to their dragons, and then headed off. Astrid saw Toothless running to the Haddock residence. Good. At least Hiccup wouldn't be alone.

On their way over, they saw people walking into the Great Hall. Right. Stoick was going to call a meeting.

"Should we go to the meeting?" Tuffnut asked.

"We have to," said Astrid. She mentally scolded herself for not being able to go to Gothi's straight away, but it's not like she had much of a choice. She and the others headed downwards on their dragons, and then landed in front of the Great Hall.

Dismounting, the youths told their dragons to wait for them outside. Then, they walked up the stairs, and headed inside.

A few minutes later, as the rest of the villagers arrived, the doors closed. Stoick stood in front of the crowd, Mildew standing a few feet to his left, his hands tied behind his back, his face twisted in a scowl.

"This man has been found with treachery," said Stoick, gesturing to Mildew, "against Berk and its heir. As we all know, the penalty for that...is permanent exile. Mildew is a threat to us."

Astrid knew when he said "us" he was mainly talking about and speaking of Hiccup. That's what this was really all about. Hiccup.

"Mildew," said Stoick, "you have been charged with treason against Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, heir of the Hairy Hooligan tribe. The penalty for that, is banishment. Any last words before you are sent off?"

"Yes, actually," said Mildew.

"Oh boy," Gobber muttered. "This should be interesting."

"You should all take a good look, and think about what the dragons have done," said Mildew.

"This isn't about the dragons, Mildew," said Stoick. "This is about you, and what you have done against the heir of Berk."

"But is it really?" said Mildew. "That Snaptrapper nearly killed HIccup just a few days ago, and now it's living peacefully in the academy! Why am I any different than the dragon?"

"Permission to speak, Sir," Astrid asked Stoick.

Stoick nodded. Astrid walked towards the front, and then stood in front of the crowd.

"The dragons don't know any better," said Astrid. "Mildew here knows what he was doing. He knew it was wrong. Firespit...that is to say, the Snaptrapper...didn't know what he was doing. He was defending himself, like any of us would do against an enemy. Mildew had no reason to hurt Hiccup."

_Poison him with a cureless poison...pretty much kill him..._ Her mind reminded her, but she ignored it. Now was not the time for doubtful thoughts.

"Hiccup is a threat to no one," said Astrid. "The dragon didn't know that. Mildew...he knew that. He knew Hiccup wouldn't be able to defend himself if he pulled a knife first. Hiccup defended himself against Mildew when he attacked. The dragon defended itself us when we tried to make it leave. Why are you different then the dragon, Mildew, you asked?" Astrid said. "Well, that's why. And can you deny it." It wasn't a question, because she already knew the answer herself. It was more of a statement.

"I've heard enough," said Stoick. "We have made our point. Mildew, you are sentenced to exile. Right away."

...

An hour later found Mildew and the rest of the Berkians at the docks. A small boat was in the water, tied to the edge of the wooden boards the docks end on. Mildew took a breath, and then walked to the edge, jumping into the boat. Fungus followed him closely.

"So long, Mildew," said Stoick.

Two men walked forward and untied the boat, pushing it off. They watched the small ship until it was out of sight, out of their lives.

For good.

Mildew was gone.

For good.

Their problem was solved.

Well, one of them at least.

As soon as the ceremony broke, Astrid and the others mounted their dragons once more, and headed to Gothi's hut to see if she was getting on with finding anything.

They hoped she had.

For Hiccup's sake.


	22. Chapter 22

**Well, this is a rather intense chapter. :) This is my SEVENTH update today. I'm trying to break my updating in a day record (eight), so yeah. :D Hoping I do! :D This chapter was very interesting for me...I enjoyed writing it, and I hope you enjoy reading it. :D Have fun! **

Gothi must have been expecting them.

She was reading a book when the five youths entered her house, many other books sprawled open on the table in front of her, opened to random pages. It was obvious what she was researching: poison. Cures.

"Any luck, Gothi?" Astrid asked hopefully. Gothi stood up, put her book down (leaving it open to the page she had been on) and then took to pacing back and forth in front of the dragon riders.

"What's she doing?" Snotlout questioned.

"Shh," said Fishlegs. "She's obviously thinking."

"Obviously?"

"Guys," said Astrid, "some other time, please."

Gothi paced in front of them, her staff clicking the ground each time she walked. Her two feet made thumps, and then her staff went clank.

_Thump. Thump. Clank. Thump. Thump. Clank. Thump. Thump. Clank. _

Astrid instantly thought about Hiccup. Whenever he walked, it made a similar sound, only a _thump, clank_ instead of two thumps. She shook her head to break herself out of her own thoughts. She couldn't think about Hiccup at that time.

But her mind kept drifting back against her own will as if it had control over her instead of the other way around. She couldn't stop thinking. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, who saved them from the Red Death, who built the best weapons to ever come out of a forge, who lead the Berk Dragon Training Academy, who started D.U.M.B. (although in Astrid's opinion, he could have picked a better name), who taught the inhabitants of Berk to ride dragons, was going to die if she didn't save him.

She watched as Gothi motioned back to her books, and then started scribbling on the ground with her staff. Astrid stepped aside to let Fishlegs move in and translate.

"She says it is possible there is a kind of flower that cures this poison," said Fishlegs.

"What is _'the poison'_?" Astrid questioned harshly and flatly, making quotation marks with her fingers on _the poison_.

"Gothi says it's a mix of normal healing herbs," said Fishlegs. "Pink Oleander flowers, mint leaf, and a mix of other plants put together to make one batch of death."

_So Hiccup was right, _Astrid thought to herself. _A mix of normal healing herbs mixed together to create a poison. _She tried to remember what he had said to her: _Astrid, you know an overdose of a medicine can easily kill a human, _he had said._ Simple. Grab a bunch of healing property herbs, mix them up, and oopsy-daisy: Death. You guys know that an overdose can kill, and taking different medicines at the same time, overdosing all of them, can kill as well. Simple explanation to all this _

"The poison is called 'Valencia'," said Fishlegs. "The illness caused by the poison is called by the same name. Normal effects of Valencia are dizziness, headaches, passing out at uncharted times, dropping of body temperature...so far, it all matches what Hiccup's got, if I am correct in remembering what you told us, Astrid."

"Yeah, you're correct," said Astrid. "Unfortunately." She remembered telling each of them what had happened on Raven Point that one day, right before the meeting. Back when they were unaware that Mildew was the assassin.

"Then there's no doubt about it," said Fishlegs. "Hiccup has Valencia."

"Is there a cure?" Ruffnut spoke up. "Because...I mean...we kind of need a cure, if you know what I mean."

Astrid had never agreed with Ruffnut more than she did in that one moment.

"Is there a cure?" asked Astrid, just to make it more forceful.

"Um..." said Fishlegs, reading what Gothi was scribbling, "she says...she doesn't know."

Pause.

"SHE DOESN'T...HOW CAN SHE NOT _KNOW!?" _Astrid demanded, although she was trying to keep her cool (and was obviously failing all the same). "We have to know! We need a definite answer! It was a yes or no question!"

"She says there is a flower said to _help_, sometimes cure," said Fishlegs. "But it's really a fifty to fifty chance either way. Normally it slows the poison, sometimes it gets rid of it all together. You really never know until after it's administered."

"Where do we find it?" Astrid tried to lower her voice and change its tone, but it hadn't worked all that well.

"She...Gothi doesn't know that, either," said Fishlegs.

"We don't have time for this!" Astrid shouted. "We...don't...have..._time!_ We can't just go lumbering around the entire archipelago and just hope to find some _magical _healing flower that will or will not work! We need real answers!"

_What would Hiccup say if he were here, listening to all of this being spoken? _she found herself asking. The more she thought about it, the more she could imagine Hiccup shouting, _It's crazy...let's do it! _

Actually, that's probably what he would have said. Word for word. If not that, he would have said something really encouraging, like, _Well, I'm doomed. _

"Do we have some sort of lead?" asked Astrid, finally finding a calmness in her voice coming from she didn't know where. "_Any_ sort of lead at all?"

"Yes, actually," said Fishlegs. "The flowers are green with blue speckles. Shouldn't really be too hard to find, you know."

"Yeah," said Astrid. "There's just like, one thousand islands out there."

"_Aaaand _they can't survive hot or cold weather," said Fishlegs. "It has to be right in the middle."

"Okay," said Astrid. "That takes out a few for sure. Like Berk...or anything close."

"With dragons, it shouldn't take too long," said Fishlegs.

"Then what are we waiting for?" said Astrid. "Why not go ahead? No use wasting any more time than we already have. Won't do us any good. Thank you for your help, Gothi," she said, sounding slightly abrasive, although she hadn't intended to do so. It just came out that way. She turned on her heels and marched towards the door.

"Astrid, wait!" Fishlegs called. She stopped and turned around again, facing the others, who were facing her. "There's something else..."

"What?" said Astrid. She really wasn't in the time for more bad news, and by the tone of Fishlegs' voice, that's exactly what it was. "What is it?"

"We have until daybreak," said Fishlegs. "Or Hiccup dies."


	23. Chapter 23

**So this is my EIGHTH update today! :D I hope to do one more and break my updating record, but I don't know if I can do that or not, soooooo...I guess we shall see! :P Hope you all enjoy this story. I know I am enjoying to write it, aaaaaaaand...yup. :D HAVE FUN! Free virtual coffee and popcorn to AAAAAAAAAAALLLLLL!**

It took a few moments to process. Instead of standing around to face her friends and what their reactions would be, she stomped out of the house, and drew her axe. She threw it as hard as she could to nowhere in particular. She saw Stormfly race to retrieve it, and sat down on the bench in front of Gothi's.

Maybe Hiccup was right. _I know I'm dying, _he had said. _Of course, there's nothing I can do about it. Actually, there's nothing you can do about it. There's nothing Snotlout, or the twins, or Fishlegs, or my Dad, or the whole of Berk can do about it. Unless...there is a cure, like you've been saying...but what are the chances of that?_

He _was _right, the more Astrid thought about it. The chances of there being a cure were slim, and the chances of the cure working were fifty to fifty as well. But maybe, just maybe, he had been wrong.

It was a pathetic hope to hold on to, but Astrid wasn't given the choice. And now they had a due date? Perfect. They had until daybreak, and it was already afternoon. They would have to leave, find the flower that would or not save Hiccup, and then get back before morning. Shouldn't be too hard, right?

Wrong.

They didn't even know where to start looking. All they knew was that the flower needed warm weather; not hot, nor cold. Warm. Perfect weather. Also, it was green with blue speckles...but how could you call either of those things a lead? You couldn't.

Astrid jumped when her axe was dropped in front of her from above. She squinted and looked up to see Stormfly hovering over her. Astrid gave her dragon a small smile before picking up her axe and sheathing it on her belt.

Astrid heard the door open, and the other dragon riders filed out.

"So..." said Fishlegs, "shall we go?"

"We shall," said Astrid with a smirk. "Let's just head off now. No need to bring provisions. We shouldn't be gone too long." _We don't _have _too long_, she told herself mentally, choosing not to say it out loud.

"Right," said Snotlout. "All in favor of leaving right now, say 'I'!"

"I!" the other riders chorused with a raise of their hands.

"Let's get going," said Astrid. "For Hiccup."

They whistled to their dragons, and then mounted. As soon as they did, they headed off towards where they hoped they would find something, although they didn't know exactly what they had hoped for.

The first place they looked was Dragon Island, since it was really the most ideal place. They split up and searched high and low for a green flower with blue speckles, but found absolutely nothing.

They ran into a few wild dragons here and there, which raised a few problems, but not more than the young riders could handle. With a little dragon nip and some patience, the dragons were no longer a threat.

After finding nothing of use on Dragon Island, they went to Thor's rock island. They split up instantly when Astrid gave the command and searched everywhere. At one point, Snotlout had been sure he had found it, but then it turned out to be just a green flower; no blue.

Fishlegs had similar results; green flower, no blue. Ruffnut and Tuffnut forgot what they were looking for a few times, leaving Astrid to explain again and again and again no matter how many times she tried to make them listen.

Astrid scanned the island below her in search of the flowers. After searching for another half hour, she met up with the other riders.

"Anything?" she asked, although she already knew the answer. If they had found something, they would have been jumping up and down in their excitement. They shook their heads, even though they knew Astrid already knew they hadn't found anything.

Astrid groaned. "Come on," she said. "Let's go to Sunstone island and see what we can find there."

"Astrid, the only think we'll find there, is another failure," said Snotlout. "Another disappointment. Why did any of this happen in the first place? This isn't right. Hiccup should be the one leading us."

"But he's not, Snotlout," said Astrid as gently as she could manage (which was actually a lot harsher than she had intended). "He's not, and his only chance is us. If we fail, he will die. We can't deny it. We have until daybreak."

"And we're wasting time talking about it," said Fishlegs. "Sunstone, you say? Let's get going!"

They headed off to Sunstone island, where they hoped to find the cure they so desperately needed.


	24. Chapter 24

**I HAVE OFFICIALLY BROKEN MY UPDATING IN ONE DAY RECORD! WHOOP WHOOP! HIP HIP HOORAY! FREE VIRTUAL CAKE FOR EVERYONEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Can you tell I am happy? XD! This is my NINTH update today (yay!). I haven't been doing shout-outs the past few chapters, and I am sorry. So I will just do one BIG shout-out to catch up: **

**EVERYONE: YOU GUYS ARE SO OVERLY AMAZING AND I WOULD BE NOWHERE WITHOUT YOU BRILLIANT READERS AND I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR MAKING WRITING FANFICTIONS WORTH IT FOR ME AND I JUST...WOW YOU GUYS AND GALS ARE GREAT! :D **

They searched Sunstone island.

Fishlegs went lower, since Meatlung was better flying low than high in the riders' opinions. Stormfly and Astrid soared above them, searching for any trace of the flower that would or would not save their heir.

Snotlout flew above Astrid and Stormfly, Hookfang looking around with his keen, Nightmare eyes. Snotlout looked along with his dragon for any lead onto where that flower was.

So far, none of them were having any luck.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut were looking close to the ground on their Zippleback. The twins tried as hard as possible to find that flower, but they did get confused every now and then and go ask Astrid again about it.

They continued searching for another hour. They were really starting to get mad at themselves for not finding anything. They were running out of time. _Hiccup _was running out of time, really. If they didn't make it back to Berk with the flower before daybreak the next morning...they would be looking for a new heir.

Really, no one could replace Hiccup. He was brilliant; smart, selfless, brave, intelligent, kind...really, no one could replace him. He was so different than all the other vikings on Berk it was almost scary. Instead of using his brawn (which he didn't have, and wouldn't have used had he had it at all), he used his brain; something most vikings didn't normally do.

Maybe that's why they respected him. He had brilliant schemes, and excellent leadership displayed almost every time there was danger. He was a special person. Astrid couldn't imagine life without him.

She couldn't believe that for fifteen years of his life, he was ignored, mistreated, and rather hated by the entire village. How so much could change in so short a time. Hiccup forgave them, too. That was another thing. He forgave people when they wronged him.

He wasn't really a violent person, either, which was seldom in a viking village. He also wasn't really the least bit strong; he couldn't pick up an axe, or a hammer, or something like that without nearly hurting himself in the process, but he still tried. He persevered. He didn't really give up easily.

Except recently, when he was poisoned.

Astrid didn't think he really meant much of what he had said about there being no hope at all. He was just upset. Plus, it was almost hopeless for him. And he didn't want to get his hopes about a miracle that most likely wouldn't come to pass.

The riders searched for a little bit more before they landed in a clearing to talk over their next plan. They dismounted and walked forward, ready to discuss their findings and their strategy.

"Any luck?" Astrid asked.

They all shook their heads.

"I can't believe we've been looking for hours, and yet we haven't found anything at all," said Snotlout. "I don't understand. How hard could it be to find a little flower?"

"Harder than you think," said Astrid, sadly. "Apparently, or else we would have long found it. But it's not easy. Nothing's easy when we need it to be."

"That's the way it is sometimes," said Fishlegs. "We really should look somewhere else, though. We don't have enough time to spend an hour talking over plans for what we're going to do. We really just have to do it and hope it works out."

Astrid and the others nodded. Turning back and walking to their dragons, they mounted, and then headed off to the next island on their list.

On their way, however, they passed an island they weren't too keen on seeing. It was an island no Berkian really liked very much.

They flew over Outcast island and then came back around to circle it. Astrid exchanged glances with the other riders as if asking for permission to land and search. She knew they didn't have a choice. If that flower was on there, they would find it. They had to. They couldn't let Hiccup die.

Finding a clearing where no Outcasts were lurking, the youths landed their dragons as silently as they could, and then dismounted even quieter. They looked around a little bit, before Astrid spoke.

"Okay," she said. "We'll each go in separate directions, on their dragons. Okay, don't get seen. If you get seen, we have to leave. All of us. Instantly. We can't risk getting captured or seen. It's too big a risk."

Turning, the youths mounted their dragons, and then headed off, scattering in different directions as they went in search of the flower that would or would not save Hiccup's life.

Astrid came up against a few Outcasts, but after realizing they hadn't seen her, decided not to do anything rash. She could only hope Snotlout and the twins would do the same. If they got captured...

No way to end that without being negative.

So, Astrid avoided Outcasts, searching for the plant.

Snotlout and the others were doing the same, each getting the same results as Astrid: none. No sign of the flower anywhere.

After an hour, they met back at the clearing once more to discuss their next move. And that's when they heard a scratchy voice catch them off guard.

"Well well well," said the voice of Alvin the Treacherous. "What do we have here?"


	25. Chapter 25

**TEN UPDATES TODAY, WOW. :D I BEAT MY NEW RECORD! THIS IS MY NINTH UPDATE TODAY, and I REALLY HOPE I AM NOT ANNOYING ANYONE WITH ALL THIS UPDATING. IF I AM...I'M SORRY! I JUST CAN'T STOP MYSELF! I SEE A STORY, AND I JUST GOTTA...UPDATE IT! YOU KNOW! IT'S...WHO I AM! XD! **

What would Hiccup say?

Instantly, Astrid knew he would say something really flattering, like _Oh, I don't know. You tell me, Alvin. What do you have here? _or _Your doom_, or _NOTHING IMPORTANT_.

She couldn't bring herself to say any of those things. She didn't know why.

"What do we have here?" Snotlout repeated. Funny, he was the last person Astrid had expected to speak up. "Oh you know. Admiring the view. You know what Hiccup says. Outcast island is _beautiful _this time of year!"

That's _exactly _what Hiccup would have said, Astrid realized.

Alvin laughed, if you could call it that at all. It was a harsh, barking, almost coughing sound that made Astrid freeze for a second.

"Well," said Alvin, "speaking of 'iccup...where is he?"

"What?" said Astrid. "Hiccup? Do we know him?"

She winked at the others in a _play along _type manner.

"Of course we-oww!" Ruffnut started, stopping when Snotlout elbowed her. "Ooh, yeah! I have no idea what you are talking about, Alvin."

"Stop playing dumb," said Alvin. "Where's the boy?"

"Which one?" Astrid asked. "There's three of them here."

"You know what I mean," said Alvin.

"I do?" Astrid frowned. "I guess whatever you say goes, Al."

"_NEVER _call me that," said Alvin. "I get called that too much by Hiccup. Now, where is he?"

"Why would I know?" said Astrid.

Alvin "laughed" again. "The boy taught you well," he said. "Taught you how to outsmart old Alvin. Bah! Like you could ever outsmart me."

"Outsmart _you_?" said Astrid. "Why...why would we want to outsmart you?"

"You sound just like yer leader," said Alvin.

"I will take that as a compliment," said Astrid.

"Now, Astrid," said Alvin, "tell me where Hiccup is, and I will take it easy of you and your friends."

As if on cue, Outcasts emerged from all directions, surrounding Astrid and the others, still mounted on their dragons.

"Should we go for it?" Snotlout asked.

"Yeah, I think we should," said Astrid. "Anyways, _thank you_, Alvin, for your generous _hospitality_-" she spat each word out as if it were toxic, "-but we will be going now. NOW!"

Stormfly reared and blasted fire straight at Alvin. Alvin jumped out of the way just before getting scorched. The other dragons followed in rapid fire, spitting lava and using each and every one of their abilities against the horrible Outcasts.

Stormfly shot spines, knocking crossbows out of the Outcasts' hands. They dropped what was left of them and then ran away, mostly screaming and crying.

"Fools!" Alvin shouted. "They're just dragons!"

"Let's get out of this death trap," said Astrid.

"I couldn't agree with you more," said Snotlout. They turned, and took off. But at the last second, Alvin grabbed a bola and threw it straight at Stormfly. It wrapped around the Nadder's wings, and she fell towards the ocean below.

"HELP!" Astrid screamed. She fell off Stormfly's back, just barely managing to wrap her arms around the dragon's neck. Now, she was dangling from her dragon's throat, hoping she wouldn't let go. Great, she thought. Just what a real warrior would do. Cry for help.

She drew her axe, which was harder than it sounded, since her dragon was plummeting to the ground unceremoniously, spinning all the while. Astrid finally managed to get her weapon, and when she did, she gripped it as if it were a lifeline.

As careful as eve, she held the axe out towards the ropes wrapped around Stormfly's wings. Then, she sliced her axe upwards, just barely grazing the fabric.

The ocean was coming up on them fast. Moreover, they were coming up on _it_. It was now or never. Astrid was either going to live, or die.

_LIVE, _she told herself firmly, as if ordering herself. Hiccup needed her alive. The others did, too. She sliced her axe upwards again, slicing one of the ropes. With renewed anger towards the Outcasts, she hacked at another of the ropes. Stormfly was pushing up against it with her wings. More of the ropes snapper like rubber bands until finally the dragon spread its wings.

Astrid sheathed her axe and swung herself back onto her dragon's back. She had just enough times to yank on Stormfly's horns (something she normally didn't do, but she was desperate right now) and then steer upwards before smacking into the ocean.

One more second, and they would have been a flapjack for the ocean to devour.

_Bleh_, Astrid thought. _I really shouldn't have thought that. _

Then, they headed away from Outcast island. No way they could go back. Not when the Outcasts knew they were there. It was practically suicide doing that.

"Are we all here?" Astrid asked once she and the others were away from Outcast territory.

"Yeah," Snotlout answered. "Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, you, me...we're all here. And alive, which is good, because dying's no fun."

She instantly thought of Hiccup, and her smile vanished. Hiccup was dying, on Berk, and here they were wasting their time on small conversations.

Poor HIccup. She instantly wished he were there to cheer them on; to say something encouraging. Normally, she really didn't like his sarcasm, but now, she missed it. She missed hearing his witty remarks against Alvin and the other Outcast.

She found herself missing his leadership skills. Normally, she thought Hiccup was always bossy, but she now realized how hard it was to be the leader. Everyone looks up to you; you're responsible for everything.

Astrid hadn't exactly been made the leader, but she was really Hiccup's second in command. If something happened to him, she was in charge, normally. That's what they did. Usually, she would love being in charge. But now...knowing that she might be permanently in charge if they didn't find the flower...it just made her feel terrible.

They had to find that flower. But where to look? At first, Astrid didn't know. They had really went across all known islands that could home the flower that would supposedly save Hiccup's life. But then she remembered one she had completely forgotten.

"Come on," said Astrid firmly. "I think I might know of an island we haven't tried yet."

"What?" said Snotlout.

"You're not going to like it," Astrid promised.

"Come _on, _Astrid," said Snotlout. "How bad can it be?"

"Okay, if you really insist," said Astrid. "The island...is Berserk."


	26. Chapter 26

**So...this is my FIRST update today. I won't be doing too many today (maybe two or three at the most?) but it's really hard to know for sure, so yeah. :D I would like to thank all of you awesome readers. I wouldn't be anywhere without you guys, and...thanks! XD!**

Berserk. Not really what anyone was really hoping or expecting Astrid would suggest, but it was really one of their only options. If that flower was on Berserk, they would find it no matter what happened; no matter what it took.

The riders and their dragons flew to Berserk just as the sun was setting, leaving just a smallest trace of sunlight as it sank behind a wall seemingly created by the ocean. It was rather hard to explain, but Astrid didn't admire the view.

For some reason, the beautiful view made her think of Hiccup. All those evenings when she and he would watch the sun set while racing each other on their dragons, laughing as they sped through the air, not caring who won or lost, not caring that they probably looked like weirdos to the other villagers. Just enjoying the moment. Enjoying each other's company.

And then they would gaze at the stars, Astrid and Hiccup both as their dragons steered them through the night sky. At those moments, Astrid felt truly...what was the right word...? Happy? It was more than that. She remembered Hiccup counting constellations, trying to teach her some, although she didn't listen too much. She was just more fascinated that he remembered all of them without hardly a problem.

If Astrid failed, she would never see that again. Never. She would never race another time with Hiccup, watch another sun set with Hiccup, help him in the forge, watch him blow something up when one of his inventions went south...she would never do anything that involved Hiccup ever again if they failed.

For some reason, all her best memories with Hiccup finally decided to show themselves. All the little things she had been certain she had forgotten, along with obvious things she could never forget no matter how hard she tried. Like that time they went snowboarding on their dragons and ended up in an avalanche. Or that time they went out to look for the treasure of Hamich the Second, and everything in between.

"-strategy," she heard Snotlout say. Had he been talking the whole time?

"What?" said Astrid.

"I said," said Snotlout, sounding exasperated, "if we're going to find the flower on Berserk, we're going to need a strategy. Any ideas?"

"I've got one!" said Tuffnut. "How about we go down there and blow something up!?"

Silence. The others stared at him with deadpan expressions.

"What?" said Tuffnut. "It would work, wouldn't it?"

"No," said Astrid. "We need to find the flower _without _blasting it out of existance on the way. We'll have to sneak in, look for the flower, and get it if we find it, and then get out before we're spotted. Anyone disagree?"

They shook their heads.

"Good," said Astrid. "Then let's find that flower."

Turning their dragons, they flew straight over Berserk, waiting until the sun set fully before landing.

They landed in one of the forests to keep themselves hidden from view. Then, they dismounted and approached each other.

"We'll have to split up," said Astrid. "Just like we did all the other times. Only this time, we _have _to find that flower. It's the only chance Hiccup has. Any questions?"

"Yeah," said Snotlout. "I think it might be better if we leave the dragons here, that way, we can get around easier and search more thoroughly."

Astrid was about to reject the idea, but then thought that maybe, just maybe, for once in his life, Snotlout made a good point. It would be easier to sneak around without the dragons, and besides, the dragons could hide themselves pretty well at night anyway. They couldn't risk getting captured.

"Alright," said Astrid. "Do what Snotlout said. Don't get caught or seen by any Berserker at all. And if you do...perform the call of your dragon, race back to this spot, and we'll leave. No questions asked, we'll leave."

"Alright," said Fishlegs. "What do we do?"

"Fishlegs, you search around here in the forest," said Astrid. "Ruffnut and Tuffnut, you two head closer to the Berserker village. Snotlout, you come with me. Find any trace of the flower, come back here and stay here. We'll all meet here in another hour no matter what. Go."

They rna off, their dragons hiding in the shadows, to their assigned locations. Snotlout followed Astrid closely, drawing his dagger in case they came up on a Berserker.

"Where are we looking?" Snotlout questioned, ducking to keep from running into a tree branch. "You didn't really say where exactly."

"Some of the caves," said Astrid in reply. "I saw some on our way in, so really, you never know."

"How far are they away from here?" Snotlout asked.

"Not too far," said Astrid. "We should come up on them any minute now."

They continued walking for a little while longer, hiding whenever they heard a Berserker, although in truth, Astrid wanted to fight them. She wanted to make each of them pay for following Dagur, who gave the poison to Johann to give to a Berkian. She wanted each of them in prison for the rest of their lives.

But, they couldn't do that at that exact time. This was for Hiccup. They could deal with Berserkers at a later date; another day. When Hiccup was cured and there with them to help them with their plans and strategies.

"I think I see something," Snotlout interrupted Astrid's train of thought. "Looks like a cave to me."

Astrid looked ahead and saw what Snotlout was talking about. It _was _a cave, darkened with night, probably impossible to see in without some light source.

"Okay, so we found it," said Astrid. "Now we just need to find a way to see inside of it." She didn't have any ideas. They didn't have a lantern or anything, nor even a torch.

"What if we light a stick on fire?" Snotlout suggested. "I mean...I don't have a better idea, do you?"

"No," Astrid admitted. She looked around the forest for a little bit before she found a suitable branch that would work. Bringing it back to Snotlout, she tried to find a way to light it.

She handed the unlit "torch" to Snotlout and then looked for some flint. After finding some, she moved back over and clapped them together over the stick. Sparks flew, and eventually lit the wood.

"Whoa," said Snotlout. "That worked."

Astrid took the "torch" and then walked in the cave. Snotlout had no choice but to follow.


	27. Chapter 27

**HELLO MY PEOPLE! :D This is my SECOND update today. This story's going great. And I'm sorry about all my cliffhangers. Really, I love cliffhangers. It keeps the readers wondering what's going to happen next, and coming back to read the next chapter. It's fun. :) I should be finishing this story in maybe two to three days. This story's pretty long so far. Longer than I would have anticipated, but it's good. :D Enjoy chapter 27! **

The cave was musty, the cave floor goopy and sploshed with mud puddles. Astrid really would have chosen anywhere else to look, but this was their best shot if no one else found the flower.

"Bleh," Snotlout mumbled. "This cave smells like Deathbreath's breath. Are you sure we'll find the flower in here?"

"I'm not sure," Astrid admitted. "But what choice do we have?"

They didn't have a choice. Astrid and Snotlout both knew that. There wasn't another option; not another way of getting out of this.

"Oh, perfect," said Snotlout. "So we don't even know if it's here or not."

"There are many caves, Snotlout," said Astrid. "If we can't find anything in this one, we'll go straight ahead to the next one."

"Okay, fine," said Snotlout.

"We're looking for a green flower with blue speckles," Astrid reminded him for the utmost time. She just wanted to make sure he knew what they were looking for.

"Got that," said Snotlout. He winced as his foot sank into the mud. "You know, we really could have picked a better looking spot, if you know what I mean."

"The others are taking care of whatever we don't take care of," said Astrid. "We just have to search these caves."

Water dripped from the ceiling of the cave, which just added to the mud and puddles below. Astrid shined their light against the walls, looking for the flower, so far finding nothing but rocks and dirt.

"How many caves are there?" Snotlout asked.

"I didn't count them," Astrid answered. She sighed. "Well, I don't see anything in this one. Should we try the next one?"

"Well, we don't have a choice," said Snotlout. "Might as well go for it."

Turning, they walked through the mud and out of the cave. Once they were back on solid ground, they shook some of the mud off their boots.

"Hopefully the next cave isn't a mud swamp in disguise," said Snotlout.

Astrid found herself hoping the same thing.

They made their way to the next cave, and then headed inside. It wasn't muddy; it was more dusty. Astrid coughed a few times, waving away dust with her hands. Snotlout was doing the same beside her.

"I don't think any flower could survive in a cave like this," Snotlout observed. "It's too dry."

"Well, let's look anyway," said Astrid. "We never know."

And so they did. They searched for any sign of the flower. This cave was larger than the last one, so it took a little bit longer, but eventually, Astrid and Snotlout both came to the same conclusion.

The flowers weren't here.

Finally loosing hope, Astrid and Snotlout went to the next cave. This one was full of dry weeds, dying, looking like they hadn't had a drop of water for as long as they were in the ground.

They decided looking there would be a waste of time. If weeds couldn't survive there, neither could a flower.

They continued to search in earnest, knowing that their hour was running out. They had to find the flower before meeting up with the others, or else they might never find it. They looked, cave for cave, searching for even a sign of where the flower might be.

Just before their hour was up, Snotlout and Astrid were looking in one of the caves closer to the ocean. Astrid was just about to call to Snotlout and tell him that they had to go meet the others, when she heard Snotlout shout.

"Astrid, over here!" he shouted. "I think I found it!"

Those last five words had Astrid running. She found Snotlout standing in front of a bush, looking at her with excited eyes, shimmering with relief.

The flowers. The light green, blue speckled flowers. Snotlout had found them.

Astrid let out a sigh with relief. They found them. They found them! But they still had to meet up with the others, or they would get suspicious and come looking for them. Astrid handed Snotlout the "torch" and then turned back to the plant. She began picking off some of the flowers and putting them in the little bag attatched to her belt.

"Um...Astrid," said Snotlout, "you don't need to talk _all of them_."

She didn't think she needed to, either, but she wasn't going to take any chances, either. She didn't want to get back to Berk and then hear that they hadn't picked enough. She wasn't going to let that happen. She couldn't stand that happening.

When the bush was completely absent of flowers, Astrid stood. Snotlout stared at her, and then focused his gaze back to the mouth of the cave.

"We should do now," Snotlout suggested. "Before the others decide to come look for us."

"Right," said Astrid. She and Snotlout turned, running out of the cave as fast as they could while also being as silent as possible. They had the flowers now. All they needed to do was get to Berk.

They ran like the wind through the forest, heading towards the clearing, wondering whether or not the cure would word. Fishlegs had said that it was a fifty to fifty chance either way. It could work, or it could just simply slow the poison.

"Guys, we found it!" Astrid declared as she and Snotlout pushed through a bush, jumping into the clearing. What they saw astonished them to no end.

Their dragons were in the open, chained and tied, muzzled as well. The twins and Fishlegs were tied to a tree in the same situation as the dragons, only gagged. They were trying to say something to Astrid and Snotlout, but before they could figure out what it was, something hit them over the head, and they fell unconscious.


	28. Chapter 28

**This is my THIRD update today. I'm really enjoying how this story's progressing. It's even better than I could have originally intended. :) There's one last twist in the third to last chapter...but I'll leave you to try and guess. :D It'll be interesting. I'm not so sure how it'll work out quite yet, but it will. :) It will. Promise. XD! **

Astrid awoke with a groan. She immediately knew something was wrong. After waiting for her vision to clear, she scanned the area. She was knocked out in a clearing.

Now she was behind bars.

She jumped to her feet and ran forward, grabbing the bars and shaking them desperately. She had a million questions and little to no answers. Her axe had been taken from her, along with...

Oh no.

The bag of flowers was gone.

She mentally screamed at herself for being so foolish. She just ran into the clearing, assuming everything was right as rain, and then went along screaming "We found it!" like there was no tomorrow.

At this rate, there _would be _no tomorrow.

She instantly looked around for the others; the dragons. She willed her eyes to adjust to the darkness, and then saw in front of her more prison cells.

"Fishlegs! Ruffnut! Tuffnut! Snotlout!" she called, almost pathetically.

"Astrid?" came four other voices, almost in perfect unison.

"Are you guys okay?" Astrid asked.

"Yeah," said Snotlout. "What in the world happened?"

From the other side of the room, Fishlegs answered; "We came back to meet up, and there were Berserkers. They had already chained our dragons, and it was easy for them to take down the twins and I. And then you guys showed up..."

"And now we're in this prison," said Ruffnut from another part of the room. "And they even locked us in separate cells, too."

"This is awful," said Snotlout. Astrid heard a bang; he must have kicked the wall in anger. "Now we're in prison. Do you still have the flowers at least, Astrid?"

"No," said Astrid. "The Berserkers must have took them."

"I told you you shouldn't have taken all of them," said Snotlout. "Now those are the only flowers around here! And the Berserkers have them! Do you have any other brilliant ideas, Astrid?"

"Hiccup would," said Tuffnut, almost sadly. "He always had ideas."

He was talking in the past tense.

"What do you mean?" Astrid asked. "He's not dead."

"Yet," said Snotlout. "We had until daybreak. Who knows how long we were unconscious? For all we know, we could have been here for a solid week. A day. Hours. Who knows? I don't. Maybe we could ask one of the kind Berserkers. I'm sure they'll want to be of some assistance. After they kill us, that is."

Astrid found she couldn't argue, no matter how hard she wanted to. If they had been unconscious for more than twelve hours, then that meant it was already too late.

She couldn't think like that. That was the very _last _thing they needed. Negative thoughts. She had to say something; something encouraging at least. Something to lift the spirits of her friends.

"He's not dead," she said, although it sounded more of a question than a statement. "All we have to do, is get out of here, find those flowers, and then leave. It really shouldn't be too hard, should it?"

"Yeah, right," said Tuffnut. "Shouldn't be too hard _after _we escape from this prison."

"What are you talking about?" said Snotlout. "It's over. There's no way we can get out of this prison, and then find the flowers, then find our dragons, and get back to Berk. Chances are, it's already too late. We had our chance, and we lost it."

"Don't...say that," Astrid hissed. The dragons. She had completely forgot about the dragons. That just added another thing to the list that they needed. They wouldn't leave without those flowers, and they couldn't leave without their dragons, and they couldn't get either until they were out of prison.

This was all so messed up.

At that moment, they heard footsteps. Only one set, probably from a Berserker. They were heavy and clumsy; definitely a Berserker, but thankfully not Dagur. Probably just a random guard coming to check on the prisoners.

The guard was a little bit taller than Astrid; she figured she could easily take him down, if she could just get him to open her cell.

But he wasn't going to do that. He walked in between the cells, making sure they were all in there. Astrid looked at Tuffnut suddenly, just as the guard was passing him. There was a mischievous smile on his face that said trouble.

What was he going to do?

"Hey!" he shouted angrily at the guard as he passed his cell. "Don't you remember me? I'm Berserker Buffnut! Who do you think you are, putting me in prison!? I demand you let me out this instant!"

"It is Buffnut!" the guard exclaimed, almost surprised.

"Yeah, it is!" said Tuffnut. "And I'm going to tell the big-hancho-whatever that YOU imprisoned me! Release me now!"

"Yes Sir!" said the Berserker soldier. He reached for his keys, and then unlocked Tuffnut's cell.

Astrid couldn't believe what she was watching. Tuffnut walked out angrily, and then looked at the guard.

"Your axe, now," Tuffnut demanded, putting his hand out expectantly. The guard hesitated. "NOW, SOLDIER!" Tuffnut demanded.

"O-okay!" the guard shouted, handing Tuffnut his axe.

Tuffnut held it, and then grinned. "Thank you," he said. Then, he knocked the Berserker unconscious with the flat of the axe. As soon as he was down, he dropped the weapon, and then took the keys.

"Who's laughing now?" Tuffnut grinned at his friends. Silence. They couldn't believe what they just saw. "Apparently just me," said Tuffnut. He began unlocking the prison cells one by one.

"HOW DID...WHAT IN THE...HOW!?" Astrid stuttered.

"Berserker Buffnut," said Tuffnut. "It's my stage name, okay?"

"I don't get it," said Astrid. "How did you just order that guard to let you free? It doesn't make sense."

"Ask Hiccup when we get back to Berk," said Tuffnut. "He'll probably be able to explain it better anyway."

He unlocked Astrid's cell, Fishlegs' cell, Ruffnut's, and then Snotlout's. Then, he hooked the keys to his belt, and picked up the Berserker's axe again.

"Shall we go?" said Tuffnut. "If anyone asks, I am moving you to a different prison. And my name is Berserker Buffnut, got that?"

"Got it," said Astrid. "Just go."

Tuffnut nodded, and then led the others outside, pretending to shove them around and order them to go in different directions. The others played along, knowing it was really their only chance of escape.

Now they just had to free their dragons, find the flowers, and then leave for good.


	29. Chapter 29

**This is my FOURTH update today. Yeah, this chapter's shorter than my others, and I apologize in advance, since, as you can well imagine, it ends in a cliffhanger (what else is new? Haha). So, yes, another chapter, another cliffhanger, another idea, another update. :) I might be doing another chapter, but I really don't know. I'm not giving up on this story (NEVER EVER), but as far as today goes, this could be the last chapter I post until tomorrow. So...yeah! You guys are so awesome for sticking with the story. It has like, 8,000 views, and I am really stoked about all that. I just have one shout-out for all of you who read, fav, review, follow, or anything: **

**SHOUT-OUT TO EVERYONE: YOU. GUYS. ARE. AAAAAMMMMMMMMAAAAAZZZZIIIINGGGG! THANK YOU THANK YOU, FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ MY STORIES! IT REALLY MEANS A WHOLE LOT TO ME THAT YOU DO! THANK YOU! FREE VIRTUAL EGG NOG (it's early, but no matter) TO ALL YOU WONDERFUL PEOPLE OUT THERE! :D **

Tuffnut led them through Berserk, answering questions whenever they came up. It was dark; that could have meant a number of things. Astrid could only hope it meant it was the same night on which they had been knocked unconscious. Any other night, and Hiccup would be dead.

They met about five Berserkers: each of which were unintelligent, and believed "Buffnut's" story. It was working better than Astrid could have thought.

Only problem was, when they ran into Dagur. They hadn't seen him yet, but they didn't think it would stay that way for much longer.

Tuffnut approached a guard head on.

"Where are they keeping the Berkians' dragons?" said Tuffnut.

"Um...why do you want to know?" the Berserker asked.

"Are you dense?" Tuffnut snapped. "Don't you know who I am!? I am Berserker Buffnut! And if you don't tell me, I'll tell the big boss honcho that you refused a direct order! I will ask you again. Where are they keeping the Berkians' dragons!?"

"In the prison cells near the ocean," said the Berserker.

"Thank you, soldier," said Tuffnut. "Speak of this incident to anyone, and I will make sure the boss fires you. With _fire_."

Astrid almost facepalmed.

"Get moving, prisoners!" Tuffnut shouted. For some reason, he seemed to enjoy pushing the others around, even if he was just pretending. They walked towards the ocean, where they saw buildings they could only guess were prisons.

Tuffnut took out the keyring and unlocked the door. He motioned for his friends to follow him, and they did. Inside, they found Stormfly, Meatlung, Hookfang, Barf and Belch, chained tightly.

"Stormfly!" Astrid whispered harshly. She took Tuffnut's axe and slashed at the chains. Stormfly unfurled her wings and squawked happily.

"Sssshhh," said Astrid. "We can't let them know we're here."

She handed the axe to Snotlout, who took to freeing his dragon. Next came Meatlung, and then Barf and Belch last.

"Good, we have the dragons," said Astrid. "Now, we just need to find those flowers, and then we can leave this death trap."

"Leave what death trap?" asked a voice from behind them.

The youths froze for an instant. They knew that voice, all too well. It was the voice of an enemy they knew too well all the same. Turning around, they found themselves face to face with Dagur the Deranged.

"It's not nice to call my home a death trap," said Dagur. "I believe it is quite nice. For me, anyways. I can't say the same for you."

He snapped his fingers, and instantly, more guards entered through the only door in the prison. Astrid, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Snotlout, and Fishlegs backed up as far as they could, Stormfly, Hookfang, Meatlung, Barf and Belch doing the same, although hissing while moving.

"I hope you don't mind me raining on your parade," said Dagur. "Look out the window, Berkians."

Turning, they looked out the tiny, barred window, one at a time. They saw Berserkers all over the place, each armed with crossbows and other deadly weapons.

They were surrounded.


	30. Chapter 30

**So, this one's longer than the last one! YAY I GOT ANOTHER CHAPTER OUT! I LIKE IT WHEN I DO THAT! :D This is my FIFTH update today, and I hope you like this chapter. I enjoyed it. :) Have fun! **

Astrid really wished Hiccup were there at that moment.

At this time, Hiccup would probably have said something brilliant, like he always did, say some random, crazy, reckless plan, and then make it work in time to save their lives. That's what he did best.

But, this time, it was up to Astrid, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Fishlegs and Snotlout.

They were _doomed_.

"What are you guys going to do?" Dagur asked. "Moreover...what were you _doing _here, on Berserk? Just a few hours ago, my men told me they found you in the woods and captured you, and you escaped, apparently, or else you wouldn't be here...but what are you doing here?"

"Admiring the view," said Astrid.

"Really," said Dagur, in complete disgust and disbelief. "Are you sure it wasn't to get off...with _this_."

He held up a small bag; the bag with the flowers in it.

"Hey!" said Astrid. "Give that back!"

She really should have kept her mouth closed.

"So I trust one of you Berkians got themselves poisoned, huh," said Dagur. "I knew that Trader Johann would give it to someone, but I didn't know who. I just hoped it was someone important. And by the looks of who's absent-" he scanned the five riders with his eyes, "-I think it worked quite well."

He grinned maniacally.

"You're crazy," said Astrid.  
>"No, not crazy," said Dagur. "Just deranged. Anyways, why would we let you get away with the Tiger Flowers?"<p>

_Oh, so that's what they're called_, said Astrid. _Makes little to no sense why, though_.

"Because you're just so nice like that," said Astrid.

"No, I'm not," Dagur hissed. "You're never leaving this island with these flowers. You know, actually, for the fun of it, how about I let you leave?"

"Let us leave?" said Snotlout. "What are you talking about?"

"You have a choice," said Dagur. "I'll let you go, but I keep the flowers. Or, I'll give you the flowers, and then you'll stay in prison. It's your choice."

"We're not leaving without those flowers," said Astrid.

"Then I guess you're never leaving, period," said Dagur. "These flowers are going to stay on Berserk. And you can't stop me, can you? You're outnumbered, Berkians! More than a hundred to one! Do you really think I will let you leave with the flowers alive?"

"No," said Astrid. "I expect we will have to make you let us."

She grabbed the axe away from Tuffnut, and then ran forward. Dagur drew his axe with his free hand, and then parried with the angered Berkian.

"Stormfly, spine shot!" Astrid shouted. Stormfly flicked her tail, sending spines towards the Berserkers. They jumped and dodged out of the way, just barely missing them.

"Stormfly, fire!" Astrid shouted to her dragon, her eyes focused entirely on Dagur. Stormfly did as she was told, firing at other Berserkers.

"Snotlout, beat down the wall!" Astrid ordered.

"With what?" said Snotlout. "My face?"

"NO!" said Astrid. "With Hookfang!"

Hookfang understood before Snotlout. He rammed into the stone wall with his horns, trying to break the foundation.

"Thatta boy, Hookfang!" Snotlout encouraged. "Break down that wall!"

Meatlung helped Hookfang, and Barf, Belch, Ruffnut and Tuffnut helped Astrid and Stormfly take down the Berserkers. The dragons fired at random spots, forcing the Berserkers backwards until they finally were forced out of the door all together. But that didn't change the fact that more of them were surrounding the rest of the prison building.

"GIVE...ME...THOSE...FLOWERS!" Astrid ordered between strikes with her axe.

Dagur and her parried once more, the dragons blasting fire as they went. Of course, dragons have a shot limit. Hookfang and Meatlung worked together and rammed into the wall again, breaking it down further. Soon, they would have an armada to fight.

And there were only five of them.

And about two hundred thousand enemies.

Stormfly spined shot towards Dagur; he easily dodged, although it just seemed to make him more aggravated. Dagur aimed a strike at Astrid, but the young, athletic girl just dodged, and then knocked the bag out of his hands.

"Stormfly, get it!" Astrid shouted.

Stormfly jumped and caught it in her mouth. She couldn't use any fire with the bag of flowers in her mouth, however. Astrid suddenly got an idea.

"Stormfly, swallow it!" she shouted. Then, Stormfly obeyed. Of course, that wasn't a problem. She would just regurgitate it when they needed it again.

"NO!" Dagur shouted. "Why would you DO that!? Those were the last Tiger Flowers on Berserk!"

"And they're _MINE_," said Astrid. She knocked Dagur with the flat of her axe, knocking him clean out. She turned around just as Hookfang and Meatlung finished destroying the wall. It came down in a crumbling mass of stones and debris.

Instantly, the crossbows started firing.

"Mount up!" Astrid ordered. "Hurry!"

They didn't need to be told twice. They mounted their dragons, and then soared out of the opening in the wall. Or, moreover, what used to be a wall. Now it was a massive hole in the middle of a building.

"FIRE AT WILL!" a shout rang out as the dragons took to the sky.

Arrows shot through the air faster than a Speed Stinger, aiming straight for the dragons and riders. Spears flew towards them as well. It was a massive dodgeball game; only if you were hit, you weren't out.

You were _dead_.

Hookfang dodged them most easily, spinning out of control, just hoping none of them hit him. And it worked, which was really remarkable. Barf and Belch were doing nothing different. Meatlung wasn't doing too bad, either, although it was a little harder for her.

Stormfly whizzed around the air, dodging arrows and spears as they came up at them. Then, the bolas started flying, heading straight for them, along with arrows, spears, and some other harmful weapons.

If they could _juuuuust _get off Berserk, everything would be fine. If they could _juuuuust _make it home, Hiccup could be cured. Everything would be fine. It was that simple. Really, it was.

They soared into the sky, out of range.

They had made it. But the sun was beginning to rise.

Without another word, Astrid held her hand out in front of Stormfly. Stormfly hacked up the bag of flowers into Astrid's hand. Astrid shook the saliva of it, and then attatched the bag to her belt. With no questions asked, they turned and headed to Berk, hoping they got there.

Before it was too late.


	31. Chapter 31

**This is my FIRST and possibly only update today. Busy. That's what I am. It's really crazy. REALLY REALLY crazy. But I wanted to get you guys this chapter, so that way you can think about the major CLIFFHANGER this one ends in. Aaaanywaaaays, enjoy! :D **

Berk was in sight almost sooner than anticipated. The sun had almost fully risen now; they didn't have much time left.

Gothi had specifically said daybreak, and the sun had been up for about two hours now; but Astrid wasn't going to let that sap up all her hope. She was going to keep going. They had the cure now. It was time to work, not worry.

Astrid didn't even wait for her dragon to land. She jumped off Stormfly when it was safe enough, recovered her wits, and then ran for the Haddock residence as fast as her two legs would carry her. No time to waste.

Snotlout jumped off Hookfang the same way Astrid had, and then ran after her, hoping it wasn't too late to save his cousin. He didn't really act like he cared very often, but deep down, he did.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut did the same thing, only Tuffnut crash landed on top of his sister before they both jumped up and followed Snotlout and Astrid. They were as worried as ever, just didn't take the situation as seriously as most people did.

Fishlegs, who had always been more cautions, yet still wanted to do the same thing as the other riders, waited until Meatlung was closer to the ground before he slid off her back and followed his friends as fast as he could (which was actually much slower than he had anticipated).

Astrid arrived, the others a few feet behind her. She barged in the doorway without hardly thinking about it. Gothi was standing in front of the fireplace. Place over it was a bowl of steaming water. Gothi nodded to the riders; she had obviously been expecting them. Made sense; she knew they were leaving.

Did anyone else?

Gothi held out her hand expectantly. Astrid instantly reached into her bag and pulled out some of the flowers. She handed them to Gothi, who instantly tossed them into the water.

"Is everything alright?" Astrid asked worriedly. Well, she obviously _knew _it wasn't alright, but really, she couldn't help but ask. Gothi shook her head and gestured to the stairs. Another instant later, Astrid climbed them while the others stayed behind to help Gothi with whatever she needed.

Hiccup was resting against his headboard, his Dad by his bedside, Toothless curled up on the floor at the foot of the bed. Astrid couldn't tell if Hiccup was awake or not, but her question was answered before she asked it.

"Hey, Astrid," said Hiccup. She could tell he was trying to make his voice sound cheerful, but it came out more of a worried croak. "Where'd you go?"

"He was looking for you," said Stoick. "Passed out again. Nearly gave me a heartattack."

"I'm sorry, Hiccup," said Astrid. "But we have something that might help with your Valencia."

"My _what_?"

"The poison," Astrid quickly corrected.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Hiccup asked. "You know, it's not fun when you're dying and your friends suddenly disappear on you like that. Where were you?"

"Looking for the cure," said Astrid.

"I didn't think there was one," said Hiccup.

"Well, there are these flowers called the Tiger Flowers," said Astrid. "Gothi told us that they slow the poison, or cure it. You can't really tell until it's administered."

She decided against telling him about their little trip to Berserk and Outcast Island. Those were just some things he didn't need to know until a later date.

"Well, you still could have told me," said Hiccup. "You know how worried I was?"

"Not usually," said Astrid.

Hiccup rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. "Don't leave again without telling me," he said. "I didn't know where you were, what had happened...anything."

Astrid crossed over to the bed and sat down on the edge of it. She put her hand on Hiccup's forehead, and withdrew it instantly. He felt about two times colder than he had before. Valencia poison was incredibly strange. Instead of causing fevers that made you feel like you were burning alive, it caused chills that made you feel as if you were freezing to death.

"We have some of the flowers," said Astrid. "Just wait a few minutes."

"That's all I've been doing," said Hiccup.

Toothless perked up and looked at Astrid, and then shifted his gaze to his master. He cooed worriedly and then laid down again.

"Done!" came a shout from the main level of the house. Fishlegs ran up the stairs, follower by Snotlout, Gothi, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, in that order. Fishlegs moved over and handed Hiccup a cup filled with thick, colorless, odorless liquid.

"I hope this works," Astrid heard Snotlout whisper to Tuffnut. Toothless stood up and moved over to investigate. He didn't seem too thrilled; obviously not. His rider was either going to live or die.

Five minutes. That was going to determine it one way or another.

Without another word, Hiccup drank the liquid. Instantly, as soon as the cup was empty, he set it down on the desk.

"Ugh," he groaned. "That tasted like Toothless' spit."

"How would you know what that tasted like?" Astrid asked.

"Better you _don't_ ask," said Hiccup.

Behind them, Snotlout shuddered. He gave his cousin a sympathetic look. Astrid found herself wondering what had happened between them. Did Snotlout somehow know what Toothless' saliva tasted like? Who knew? Who cared?

Hiccup suddenly passed out again.


	32. Chapter 32

**So this chapter's a little longer. I should be doing quite a few updates today. Sorry I haven't done much for a while. I've been busy like crazy, so...yeah. I'm sure you guys understand. And...if you don't...okay. Anyways, here's chapter 32, and I just wanted to say that this story is far from over. I have a few more things to put in it. It will probably be closer to forty chapters when it's over with. For those who were asking, I have not seen "Dawn of the Dragon Racers" yet, although I really want to. I'll see it eventually. :D Anywho, here's chapter 32. Sorry for the cliffhanger, as usual. :) **

"Hiccup!" they all shouted in unison.

Gothi pushed her way through, and then looked at Hiccup. She felt his forehead, checked his pulse, and then turned around and wrote something on the ground with her staff.

"Uh...should I...?" Fishlegs asked, almost worriedly.

"Yes, you will," said Astrid. "Go on."

Fishlegs stepped forward to read what Gothi had written.

"She says..." said Fishlegs, and then he nearly screamed the next part. "She says it worked!"

"Worked what do you mean worked?" Snotlout asked.

"The poison!" said Fishlegs. "The Tiger Flowers cured the poison! His unconsciousness is just his body's way of healing itself. WE DID IT, THOUGH, GUYS! IT WORKED!"

At that moment, the world almost exploded. Astrid grabbed Snotlout and spun him around almost in a dancing type fashion, before realizing what she was doing. When she did, she judo flipped him without another word. Tuffnut and Ruffnut bashed their heads together, knocking themselves out in the process.

"IT WORKED!" Astrid screamed, spinning around herself and laughing almost hysterically. She couldn't believe it had actually worked. "IT WORKED IT WORKED IT WORKED!"

"We get it!" said Snotlout, standing up. "We did it! IT WORKED!"

Toothless spun around, almost as if he were chasing his tail. He tossed his head back and roared, shaking the entire house in the process. He bounced around the room like a rubber ball. It had worked! This was a big deal.

A really big deal.

"I should go out and spread the news!" Stoick said cheerily. "Call yet another meeting at the Great Hall." He left shortly afterwards, followed by Gothi. The rest of the dragon riders decided to stick around a little longer, just to see if Hiccup would wake up soon. They really hoped he did. They couldn't wait to tell him the good news.

_Great _news, moreover.

Snotlout, Fishlegs and the twins left for just a moment to make sure their dragons weren't panicking. With Toothless' roar fest and all, it wouldn't have surprised them. Astrid refused to leave, though. She had come so close to losing Hiccup. A few more minutes, and she would have, too.

A few minutes after the other riders headed off, Astrid heard a slight moan. Looking down, she saw Hiccup had cracked his eyes open slightly.

"Hiccup?" said Astrid, almost hopefully. Really, she was hoping he was awake and okay. As far as feeling went, and all.

"What?" Hiccup asked, opening his eyes fully. "Astrid, you're alive. Or are we both dead?"

Astrid laughed. "Nah, I'm fine," she said. "And so are you. What do you mean, I'm alive, though?"

"Just...this weird dream," said Hiccup. "Wait...what happened exactly?"

He sat up and pushed himself against the headboard.

"You fainted," said Astrid.

"Oh, right," said Hiccup. "But I'm not dead."

"Nope," said Astrid.

"Meaning I'm alive."

"Yep."

"Meaning the cure worked?"

"Yep."

"Okay," said Hiccup. He paused. "So...we're good now?"

"Yeah," said Astrid. "Good as new. And if you _ever _even _begin _to think about getting poisoned like that again...I don't know what I will do, but it won't be good."

"So I take it you were worried?" Hiccup asked.

"_Worried!?" _said Astrid. "Hiccup, you _fainted _two or three times, right? Just randomly...out of the blue. Do I really need to tell you I was worried?"

"Not unless you want to," said Hiccup.

"Okay, FINE," said Astrid. "I was worried."

Toothless got tired of waiting his turn. He ran over, and started bombarding Hiccup with licks.

"Agh, Toothless, stop!" Hiccup laughed, trying (and failing) to push the Night Fury away. "That's truly disgusting, bud!"

Toothless took a step back and cocked his head. Hiccup smiled and rolled his eyes.

"So I take it you were worried too?" Hiccup asked.

Toothless growled softly and nudged his rider's side. Hiccup rubbed the dragon's head and then turned back to Astrid.

"So...where are the others?" Hiccup asked.

"Your Dad went out to call another meeting," said Astrid. "To spread the great news to the rest of the village. He was really worried about you, you know."

"He told me that a few times," said Hiccup. "What about Snotlout? Where is he? Or Fishlegs? Or Ruffnut? Or even Tuffnut? Where'd they run off to?"

"They went to calm down their dragons a little bit," said Astrid. "They might have been panicking. When you fainted a minute ago, Toothless went bonkers. Probably spooked a bunch of the dragons on Berk, now that I think about it."

"Uh-huh," said Hiccup. "Toothless will do that. Happened before."

Toothless replied by licking his master.

"Oookay, enough with the licks, Toothless," said Hiccup, but he was smiling. "So, Astrid-" He turned to her, "-what happened exactly while you were looking for the cure? Honestly, Astrid, no lies. Tell me everything."

And so she did. She told them of every island they looked on, and then landing on Outcast Island and nearly getting killed. Then, she told him about getting captured on Berserk, and then escaping. Hiccup asked little questions, and really didn't speak other than an occasional "What?" or "Wow."

"So you went through _all that_, huh," Hiccup said once Astrid had finished explaining.

Astrid nodded. "Yeah," she said. "It was dangerous."

"Yeah, I know," said Hiccup. "But you didn't have to do that for me, Astrid. You could have easily been killed out there."

"And if we didn't do it," said Astrid, "_you _would have been easily killed."

"Huh...touche," said Hiccup.

"Uh-huh," said Astrid. "Well, we're alive, and everything's good, so...we're good now, like you said."

"Good as new," said Hiccup.

For a few moments, they did nothing; just stared at no particular thing, keeping to themselves for no reason other than they didn't know what else to talk about. Strange how often when one wants to have a conversation is exactly the time one cannot think of words worth saying. And so they sat there, just glad to be alive, until at last Hiccup spoke.

"I'm guessing we should head out," he said. "No use staying here doing nothing. Besides, if I don't take Toothless out to fly, he'll probably break the house down."

The reckless dragon bounced around the room like a basketball, shaking the frame of the building.

"Yeah, I think that would be smart," Astrid agreed. "Can you get up, or-"

"I'm fine, Astrid," said Hiccup. "Cured, right?"

"Right," said Astrid, "but still-"

When he made a move to get up, something was off. Quite possibly _literally _off. He couldn't feel his left leg. Or...what was left of it, that is to say.

"Huh," he said. "That's...strange."

"What?" said Astrid. "What is it?"

"I can't move my left leg," Hiccup decided. He tossed the blanket aside and touched his leg. He couldn't feel it. Touching it just felt like he was touching someone else's leg.

"That's...not natural," he said.

"What about the right one?" said Astrid.

"Fine," said Hiccup. "It's just the left one. Do you...wait..."

He must have thought the exact same thing Astrid thought, because their facial expressions almost matched flawlessly.

"Hiccup," said Astrid, "I think you're paralyzed."

**WHOA, okay, so I doubt any of you saw that coming. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe I surprised you all by this twist. :) I will update later on today for certain...I just don't know when. :) THANKS! **


	33. Chapter 33

**OKAY, WOW, so I haven't updated hardly at all, and I'm rather upset about the whole thing, and I'm sure you are, too. That last cliffhanger? Whoops. And that's not even the _biggest _twist in the story. There are a few more...hehehe. But that's for another chapter. This is my SECOND update today, and I'm sorry. For those who were asking, Hiccup's paralysis is on his _left _leg, so he still has one full good leg to use. :) Anywho, chapter 33! Enjoy! **

The door swung open, and the sound of footsteps thumping against the wooden staircase met Hiccup and Astrid's ears.

Hiccup looked at Astrid, his eyes pleading.

_Paralyzed? _he thought to himself. _She has to be joking. She has to be joking. _

He knew she wasn't; she wouldn't joke about something like that. And Hiccup knew himself what was true. He knew what was wrong. Now he just had to tell his friends...

"PARALYZED!?" Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut exclaimed in perfect unison when they reached the top of the stairwell.

"What do you mean _paralyzed!?_" Snotlout demanded.

"What does _that _mean?" Tuffnut asked.

"Of a person or part of the body that is partially or wholly incapable of move-" Hiccup started.

"In English, genius," said Snotlout.

"I don't want to explain it again," said Hiccup.

"It means a part of the body that is incapable of moving," said Fishlegs.

"But...what does that mean?" said Tuffnut.

Behind them, Hiccup facepalmed.

"I can't move my left leg, okay?" he said.

Silence.

"That's hilarious, you can stop the joke now," said Snotlout.

"I'm not joking, Snotlout," said Hiccup. "You seriously think I would _joke _about something like this?"

Silence.

"You can't be _paralyzed_," said Ruffnut, "even if it is just your leg. How would you fly Toothless? Get around? Do _anything_?"

Hiccup opened his mouth to say something, and then ended up just sighing.

"I don't know," he said. "I don't know."

Astrid felt like kicking something. Just when everything seemed to mellow out..._CRASH. _Another problem. Quite possibly bigger than the first.

And then, Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Fishlegs all started talking at once. Astrid and Hiccup looked at each other, both angered and confused. How did Valencia Poison cause paralysis? Well, poisons did do that to people...but why did it have to be Hiccup, out of the whole of Berk? It just wasn't fair.

"QUIET!" Hiccup shouted.

Instantly, it was silenced. Everyone stared at Hiccup, waiting for him to do or say something.

"I need to_ think_," he said.

"Okay," said Snotlout. Then, he and the twins began whispering, "Think think think think think think think think think think think" over and over in a chanting type manner.

"Stop!" Hiccup shouted. "That doesn't help me think!"

"What are we gonna do?" Ruffnut wondered out loud.

"Maybe Gothi knows something..." Hiccup thought. "Just maybe. I don't know...it's a long shot, but we don't really have a choice, do we?"

"Well...no," said Astrid. "Hang on a minute, I need to go somewhere.

"What?" said Hiccup. "Wait..._where_?"

"To the forge," said Astrid. "Be right back."

"Wait, hold on!" said Hiccup, but Astrid was already gone, and he couldn't follow her. "Aaaaand she's gone."

"Mmm-hmm," said Snotlout.

"What does she want to go to the forge for?" said Hiccup.

Snotlout shrugged. "Well, it's good to see you awake," he said. "And well. For the most part..."

"_Snotlout_," said Fishlegs.

"Okay, it's good to see you alive," said Snotlout.

"_Better_," said Fishlegs.

"I'm back!" Astrid announced as she raced through the door, up the stairs, and to the bedside. She was carrying a wooden crutch underneath one of her arms.

"What...is _that _for?" Hiccup asked, even though he already knew the answer. He wasn't dense. He should have figured it from the beginning what Astrid had been retrieving.

"Not _what, who_..." said Astrid. Hiccup sighed. "You," Astrid went on. Hiccup wasn't even surprised. Nonetheless, that didn't mean he was _thrilled_. It was strange for him enough, walking around with a prosthetic, and then everything that came with it, but using a crutch...? He really didn't like the idea.

"I haven't used that thing since I lost my leg," said Hiccup. And really, he hadn't. The first few weeks after he lost his limb, Gobber had designed a crutch for him. After he got used to walking without his missing body part, the crutch was put into storage.

"Well, you need it," said Astrid. "It's better than not being able to walk at all, right?"

"Yeah, right," said Hiccup. He took the crutch under his left arm and stood unsteadily to his feet, trying to find his footing. He had lost a leg before, but this was different. This was paralysis. He wasn't used to it by a long shot.

Behind them, Astrid could hear Ruffnut and Tuffnut whisper to each other. Not knowing what they were talking about, she shooed them out instantly, giving them random chores to do as an excuse. She shoved Snotlout and Fishlegs out behind them, just to be sure. Then, she turned back to Hiccup.

"This is so awkward," said Hiccup.

"I don't think so," said Astrid. "That's just Snotlout and the twins being Snotlout and the twins."

"No, it's not _that, _Astrid," said Hiccup. "I was just...I was so sure I would never need this thing again, and look how wrong I was." He sighed. "Can't I get through one lifetime without getting poisoned and partially paralyzed, amongst other unusual problems?"

"Probably not," said Astrid. "You're Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third. Danger is what comes with being you."

"Thanks a lot. Now I'm inspired."

"Wonderful," said Astrid. "Glad to have been of assistance. Anyways...Gothi?"

"Sure," said Hiccup. "Hopefully, she knows something about this paralysis."

Astrid wanted to say _And if she doesn't_, but decided not to. Hiccup was already having a bad enough day as it was. He didn't need her to say something negative and make it even worse.

So they went, Toothless following them. Hiccup walked rather easily with one paralyzed leg, using one crutch under his writing arm. But then again, he had had a lot of practice in the past. Losing a leg had ensured that. He was glad it wasn't his good leg; then he would have had to try and learn how to use the crutch with his right arm, which would have been hard, since he was left-handed.

After leaving his house, they came to a strange position. Toothless wasn't at all prepared to leave his rider, and Hiccup couldn't fly Toothless, so...

"Stormfly," Hiccup said without a second thought. "Toothless can follow us. I'm sorry, buddy," he apologized to his dragon, scratching his head lightly, "but I can't fly you right now. Follow us, okay?"

Toothless understood. Astrid mounted Stormfly, and then pulled Hiccup on behind her. Then, the Deadly Nadder took to the sky, Toothless following them below.


	34. Chapter 34

**Whoa, okay, so the past few days, I have been doing hardly any updates, and I apologize, but hey, here's another chapter, so that works. :) Just to let you know, there is tons more in store for this story, so don't worry. I have decided it will probably be about forty chapters, or something? I don't really know. It will be over thirty five for sure. :) Sorry about that last twist. I guess I really do too much to Hiccup and his friends, huh? But it's good. You guys know I don't really do character deaths...or...do I? Bwahahahaha. No, never mind. Enjoy chapter 34, and I want to thank all of you for all the virtual treats a lot of you have been giving me. So...HAVE SOME VIRTUAL EGG NOG (it's early, but no matter, it's a DELICIOUS drink in my opinion). I used to hate it, but now I LOOOOOVE it! :D enjoy chapter 34!**

Hiccup was embarrassed.

It was enough to walk around the village with a prosthetic, limping occasionally, struggling when phantom pains hit. Whenever he walked on a hard surface, his one good foot and metal leg would make two different sounds: _thump, _and then _clank_ or _clunk_, depending on the surface.

And now he had to use a _crutch_? Now it was like having three feet...or...two, since one was technically paralyzed...or did he have one, since he had a fake one and a crutch? Or was it like having two, since one was good and the other was a crutch, or did the crutch count as a leg at all, or...?

He settled for not thinking about it.

He had really hoped it would stop at the poison; not go any further. But he was wrong. _Boy _he was wrong. Poison was one thing, but paralysis? They were two different things; both of which he wasn't accustomed to. But if he were to choose between a curable poison and paralysis, he would have picked the poison.

Of course, the few days he was poisoned, he had felt wretched; but not being able to fly Toothless, walk without a crutch, and just walk in general without hobbling and shaking on every step was just as bad. The Valencia Poison made him feel like he was being frozen from the inside out; and being partially paralyzed really didn't make him feel much different.

It was miserable either way. A million questions raced through his mind, none of which he had the answer to: What if it was permanent? How would he fly Toothless? How could he continue leading the Berk Dragon Training Academy? How could be take role as Chief when that time came? What about when Alvin or Dagur attacked? What about when a wild dragon wrecked havoc over Berk? What about when Snotlout needed help with Hookfang (which wasn't at all seldom)? What about-

"Heeelllooo?" Astrid snapped her fingers in his face. "Hiccup. Earth to Hiccup. Come in, Hiccup."

Hiccup shook his head. "Sorry," he said. "Lost in thought."

"Uh-huh," said Astrid. "I've been trying to talk to you for five minutes. We're here."

Hiccup looked below them. Really, he wasn't too excited about hearing what Gothi had to say, but he really didn't have a _choice_, either. If anyone knew anything about injuries, poisons and aftereffects, it was Gothi.

Still, that didn't mean Hiccup was excited.

Stormfly landed on the platform and then allowed Astrid to dismount. Toothless roared from below them, but couldn't get up. Hiccup slid off Stormfly's back, calling to mind he couldn't use his left leg at all, and then managed to keep his balance.

Astrid went up to the door, knocked, and then waited for Gothi to answer it. Hiccup stood behind Astrid, really hoping that she would do all the talking.

Gothi opened the door and then ushered the two of them inside. Astrid let Hiccup in first, just so she could make sure he didn't lose his balance suddenly. He sat down on a bench, Astrid sitting beside him. Gothi stood in front of them, waiting for them to speak up.

"You do it," whispered Astrid.

Hiccup jumped. "Me!?" he asked. "No way."

"You're the one who has the problem!" said Astrid.

"But that's exactly why I _can't _do it!" said Hiccup. "It's so creepy!"

"Do it anyway," said Astrid.

"Yowza!" said Hiccup. "You're so demanding!"

"Just do it and get it over with," said Astrid.

"I can't do it!" said Hiccup. "This is ridiculous!"

Gothi stared at them, gesturing to both of them, asking them silently to figure something out. The bickering seventeen-year-olds were wasting her time.

Hiccup coughed awkwardly. "It's all yours, milady," he said.

Astrid whacked him.

"Ow!" Hiccup winced. "What _is _it with you and the punching!?"

"THAT'S for asking!" she whacked him again.

Hiccup rolled his eyes.

"Fine, I'll explain it," said Hiccup.

"No, I want to now that you put up a fight about it," said Astrid.

"Fight? What fight?" said Hiccup. "I'm partially paralyzed!"

And there it was. He hadn't meant to blurt it out like that, but he had.

"After effects, I assume," said Hiccup. "Of the Valencia, anyways. Is there something you can do?"

The elder paced back and forth until finally she nodded, almost uncertainly. She wrote something out with her staff, and then stepped aside to let Astrid do her best to translate.

"She says..." said Astrid, squinting at the "words", "that there is a surgery-"

"WHAT!?" Hiccup was on his feet (or, foot, more like).

"Let me finish," said Astrid. "She says it could or could not work. She won't know until she tries it. She says if she doesn't do it soon, your paralysis will be permanent."

"But...HOW!?" Hiccup nearly shouted.

"Don't freak out," said Astrid.

"Freak out!?" Hiccup said. He ran his free hand through his hair. "I'm not freaking out are YOU freaking out? No I'm just very very intrigued at how the thought that maybe possibly my paralysis is permanent and I just don't understand the entire concept of the entire thing and I don't see how possibly Gothi could fix it because Valencia poison is deadly and poisonous and I just don't understand the concept of the entire mechanism and I just-"

"Hiccup, you're rambling," said Astrid.

"I ramble when I'm scared!" said Hiccup. "Does my Dad even know about the whole thing? How am I going to explain!?"

"Hiccup, you're freaking out," said Astrid.

"FINE you win I'm freaking out!" said Hiccup. "Are you happy now?"

"Hiccup, _I _will tell your father," said Astrid.

"It's not just that!" said Hiccup. "The whole thing is crazy!"

Gothi wrote more out with her staff and stepped aside to let Astrid translate.

"Hiccup, she says that in a few days, it will be too late," said Astrid. "We have to tell your Dad now, and then come back as soon as that's over with. Don't worry."

"Worried?" Hiccup asked. "Worried, I'm not worried, are you worried?"

"Yes," said Astrid. "I'm just as worried as you are. Come on, we have to talk to your Dad. We'll be back in a little while, Gothi," Astrid called as she and Hiccup left the building. "Just a little while!"

She and Hiccup mounted Stormfly, and then headed off to find Stoick. Hiccup didn't know how he was supposed to tell his Dad...


	35. Chapter 35

**This is my SECOND update today. This is a short chapter, I know, and I apologize. I had a slightly hard time writing it, for what reason, I don't know. It was rather hard for me, maybe because my brain decided it didn't want to work. :D But here it is, and I am happy to say I will probably be doing a few more updates today if I really try. I am really loving this story so far. I have so much planned for it, though. It could take me a little while to get it all out there, but hey, hopefully you will all like how it turns out. :) There are quite a few things coming that you would never have expected, most of them being rather...oh wait, right, I can't tell you, or else it would spoil everything. :) And also, this is my longest story so far, and I'm really not very close to being done with it after all. :) I LOVE THIS STORY AND I LOVE ALL WHO READ IT. YOU ARE ALL AWESOME, AND I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING AWESOME. SO...A MILLION THANKS TO ALL THOSE WONDERFUL READERS! :D Enjoy chapter 35! **

Stoick hadn't expected to see Hiccup using a crutch.

Of course, after he had lost his leg, he had used it quite often. But now...?

He figured something was wrong. For one, Hiccup was riding behind Astrid on Stormfly instead of riding Toothless. For another thing, Toothless was following from the ground, running as fast as he could to keep up with the Deadly Nadder. Both unusual things.

Stormfly landed in front of Stoick, Toothless halting right beside her. Astrid and Hiccup dismounted, although Stoick realized he wasn't putting any weight on his left leg (or, what was left of it, anyways).

"What's up, you two?" Stoick asked.

"Well...something..._happened_," Hiccup said, hesitating on each word. "And...it's really not to..._good_, so to speak, but Gothi thinks she can fix it...soooo..."

"You're not making any sense," said Stoick. "What's with the crutch?"

"Um..." Hiccup looked at Astrid, his eyes pleading. She did nothing to help him, which really made Hiccup slightly irritated. She could _at least _help him explain. He didn't know how his father would react when he learned what had was wrong.

"I have partial paralysis," said Hiccup. "In my left leg...and...yeah."

"Paralysis!?" Stoick exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Snotlout and Fishlegs ran up behind Astrid and Hiccup. "You heard right," said Fishlegs.

"But there's something else," said Hiccup. "Gothi...she knows this surgery...she said it might cut the paralysis. But she...she has to do it...like..._now_, or else it'll be too late."

Stoick stared at them all in confusion. It was pretty clear that Hiccup didn't want to lose his entire leg for eternity. The surgery was really the only hope he had. And maybe that hope was worth it. It would be. If it worked, that is. It was still a fifty to fifty chance either way.

"Okay," said Stoick after what seemed like an eternity. "Are you sure, son?"

Hiccup nodded, rather dolefully and uncertainty. "I don't have much of a choice either way," he said. "It'll work, I know it will. Gothi's the best we got."

"You bet she's the best we got," said Astrid. "She'll succeed." She was trying to hold onto the positive, since in all honesty, she was scared out of her mind. Something could go wrong. You never knew.

"We should hurry," said Astrid. "The sooner we start, the sooner it can be over with."

Stoick, Hiccup and the rest of the dragon riders mounted their assigned dragons (besides Hiccup, who still rode with Astrid on Stormfly, Toothless following them from below) and then headed off to Gothi's.

Stormfly landed on the platform. The riders and Stoick jumped off their dragons and then commanded them to go back to the level ground. Really, there couldn't be too many dragons on the platform at once.

Astrid dismounted, Hiccup sliding off with her. Stormfly then went to join the rest of the dragons while Astrid knocked on the front door. Gothi opened the door almost immediately, and then nodded to Hiccup.

Hiccup sucked in a breath, studied each of his friends' faces, and then walked inside.

Gothi shut it behind him, and then motioned to one of the sick beds in the abode. Hiccup hesitated. He really hated all of this. But there was nothing he could do about it. Besides, he trusted Gothi. What did he have to worry about?

He was still hesitant, though. He didn't know what would come with this. He didn't even know if it would _work_ or not. No one did, really. They could guess, but they couldn't be certain. And they wouldn't ever be certain, until it was over with.

Deciding it was no use stalling, Hiccup walked/hobbled over to the bed motioned to by Gothi and then sat on it before laying down. He felt something placed over his nose, and then he was out like a light.


	36. Chapter 36

**So this chapter's a bit longer then that last one. :) This is my THIRD update today, and I have realized something. I haven't been doing any shout outs the past few chapters, and I am sorry. The next story, I will be starting anew with the shout-outs to all you awesome people. This story shouldn't take me more than a few more days to complete. I hope you like the way I intend to complete it. :) Enjoy chapter 36! **

It took until nightfall.

It was insane, really, waiting outside the healer's hut for hours and hours on end, waiting and waiting, not knowing what was going on inside. The dragons waited patiently from below; Toothless had tuckered himself out earlier by constant roaring and trying to get up to find out what was going on, and now settled for just sitting and waiting.

Astrid paced back and forth restlessly, her mind deciding that this would be a great time to think about how many things could have possibly gone wrong. There was really a rather big list of things that could have been messed up; mistakes that could have been made, none of them turning out for the better.

She was scared; terrified, even, although she wouldn't easily admit it. It was true, though. She was terrified. She had come so close to losing Hiccup so many different times in his life; and this one was almost too much. It had been nearly eight hours. What was taking so long?

Snotlout was having similar thoughts. He would never actually admit that he so much as _cared _about Hiccup, much less openly say that he was worried. He his his concerns behind constant questions: "What's taking so long?" "Why aren't they finished?" "Will it work?" "Will it fail?" "Would Hiccup survive?"

Ruffnut and Tuffnut were also worried, although they kept it to themselves as Snotlout did, asking many crazy questions, most of which were completely off of subject and didn't matter. Moreover, would _never _matter for as long as they lived.

Stoick was also worried. He paced back and forth, wondering what in the world was taking Gothi so long. She normally never took this long with stuff such as this. Why was this time different than any other time?

He was still trying to register the fact that Hiccup was partially _paralyzed_. He didn't have much time to think about it when Hiccup first told him, but the past eight hours, he thought about it like mad. His son was partially paralysed, and quite possibly permanently. If what Gothi was doing failed, that was.

It continued like this: Worry, questions, pacing, questions, worry, questions, pacing, questions, worry, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, for eight hours on end. It was insanely hard to deal with and fully comprehend.

Astrid was angry. Why was all this happening to Hiccup? He would never hurt anyone unless he absolutely had to. He never did anything to anyone to deserve this kind of "punishment", or whatever you decided to call it. It just wasn't fair. Not fair..._at all_.

Falling into the flames of the Red Death had been enough for Astrid. Those few minutes when they had been sure that their heir and hero had been killed. After that, he had lost a leg. Shortly after, he was struck by lightning. Then, Dagur became his enemy. Alvin wanted Hiccup to train his dragons.

What had he done to deserve all of that?

Of course, Astrid knew life wasn't fair, but still. Hiccup didn't get cut any slack, it seemed. He attracted danger like a magnet; it was strange, different and discomforting all at the same time. Between running out to train dragons to breaking a bone or something, Hiccup always seemed to go a little bit overboard.

Astrid still didn't understand him.

She had known him for quite a while, and yet she didn't understand him. There were few who did. Of course, she caught the obvious things; his selflessness, his compassion, his sarcasm (which she both loved; since it lightened the situations; and hated; because it was slightly irritating), and everything in between. But really, he was slightly on the crazy side. Not as crazy as Snotlout or the twins by a long shot, yet not as sane as Fishlegs. He liked adventures; not danger.

He was strange, unpredictable, and just..._Hiccupy_. That's what he was. That's the best way Astrid knew how to describe him. Really, she didn't know how else to do so. Hiccup was Hiccupy. Nothing more to be said about the matter.

Another hour later, Fishlegs left, since he wasn't really supposed to be out after dark. He bade the others farewell, promising to be back in the morning to see how it went, and then headed off.

After he left, another hour passed. Ruffnut and Tuffnut called it a night, bickering over what time it was precisely as they mounted their dragon and headed off to their house. Astrid could hear their complaining as they flew out of sight.

After they left for sleep, Snotlout waited another half hour, and then headed off on Hookfang. He was worried about Hiccup; he just wasn't too keen on staying up for who-knew-how-long for no apparent reason. He knew Gothi wouldn't do something if she wasn't sure she could succeed. Plus, she was the best they had. If she couldn't do it, nobody could.

That left just Astrid and Stoick, along with Toothless, Stormfly, and Thornado, who waited below the platform for their riders. Toothless whimpered every now and then. Why didn't he know what was going on? He knew _something _was wrong, but no one even cared to explain it to him. He didn't think it was fair. He was the one to protect Hiccup, and yet why wasn't he?

Astrid's mind continued to wander as she sat down and tapped her axe against her foot lightly so she didn't cut or hurt herself. She wondered what was taking Gothi so long; now it was nearly midnight. She had started around two in the afternoon. It didn't make much sense. Why on Earth would it take the best healer in the world nearly ten hours?

A few moments later, although it felt like a few more hours had passed, the door creaked open. Astrid and Stoick were instantly on their feet, approaching Gothi as she exited the abode.

"Well?" said Stoick. "What happened? Did it work?"

Gothi smiled, and then nodded.

It worked. It had worked. Astrid was so happy she could have shouted it to the world, hadn't it been midnight. Gothi gestured for them to come inside, and they did so with little to no hesitation. Hiccup was laying on one of the beds, sleeping from whatever Gothi had used to knock him out with.

Gothi wrote out on the ground with her staff. Astrid moved over to investigate the text.

"She says he'll probably wake up tomorrow," she said. "She would like to keep him here until he wakes, that way she can check him out as soon as he's up."

"What a relief, it worked," Stoick breathed.

Gothi nodded, and then wrote a little more.

"She says we should probably head back and get some sleep," Astrid translated. She and Stoick instantly wanted to protest, but knew there was no arguing with Gothi. Besides, they were both rather exhausted from waiting out almost all night. They could use some sleep. They could always come back in the morning. And they would, too.

"Thank you, Gothi," said Stoick and Astrid, almost in perfect unison.

They turned and left the building.

_**(MEANWHILE...) **_

"Sir, we are approaching Berk," a soldier said to his leader. "We should be there tomorrow night. Are you sure we shouldn't turn around and get the others?"

"Positive," the other answered. "A small ship, a small purpose. We are not heading there to fight the Berkians. We're heading there for one thing and one thing only."

"What's that again?" the soldier asked.

"_Hiccup_, you fool!" said the leader. "The plan is set in perfection. As soon as we dock, you and the other soldier we brought have to go get the girl. I will find Hiccup, and tell him of my wager."

"Is this about the Night Fury again?" said the soldier.

"No," said Dagur the Deranged. "Something much more..._precious_."


	37. Chapter 37

**This is my FOURTH update today. This chapter really made me happy, but the story's not over yet. Please don't hate me for the little twist I did at the end of this chapter, and sorry about the cliffhangers. Queen Cliffie's gotta get...well..._cliffie_. :) Enjoy chapter 37! **

Hiccup opened his eyes and sat up, finding himself in the healer's abode. Light was pouring through the windows; it must have been either late morning or early afternoon. Of course, there wasn't much way of knowing for certain until he stepped outside.

His mind instantly went to the events of the previous day. He looked down at his left leg, seeing nothing unusual. He tried to move it, and then found that he could, just ever so slightly. Then that meant that what Gothi did had worked.

He was thrilled to no end, but still wondered what the damage had been. He sucked in a breath, and then rolled up his pants leg.

Eleven. There were eleven of them. Eleven stitches, starting slightly above his knee, heading upwards for about a few inches before it tied off. That's all it took? Really he had been expecting something worse, all the more, relieved it hadn't been so.

He still couldn't move his bad leg very well, though. He looked off to his side and saw his crutch leaning up against the headboard. Grabbing it, he pushed himself off the bed, wincing at any time his left leg moved even slightly. This was going to be difficult.

He was feeling a strange deja vu; waking up after battling the Red Death to find himself missing a leg. This day was almost just like that day, only completely different.

"This is...problematic," he said to himself. And truly, it was. He was irritated with himself for being so ignorant. If he just hadn't accepted that water from Mildew in the first place, none of that would have happened. Life would continue to be as it had been on Berk. But no. Not anymore. Not for a while, at least.

Gothi emerged from one of the doors in the house, and nodded to Hiccup. Hiccup only looked back at her in confusion. He mentally kicked himself for not learning how to translate Gothi's writings previously. He knew the basics; just not the "everything else."

Gothi motioned to his crutch, and then wrote a few things out on the ground with her staff. She knew Hiccup didn't know much, so she tried to pick ones that he knew.

Hiccup squinted. "So...use the crutch, don't do anything too strenuous," he said. Gothi nodded. "Huh," said Hiccup. "I think I can do that. But how long?"

Gothi wrote with her staff.

"Four weeks?" said Hiccup. "That's not too bad...right?"

Gothi nodded, and then gestured to the door. Hiccup knew what she was telling him: he was allowed to leave now. He quickly thanked her, and then headed outside, supporting all his weight on his crutch and good leg.

After walking outside, he determined that it was somewhere between nine and twelve o'clock. He wasn't certain, but he was rather good at guessing the time. He heard a roar from below, and instantly looked over the side of the platform.

"Hey, Toothless!" Hiccup called.

Toothless roared and bounded around happily. His rider was awake! This was great, great, great news for Toothless. Problem was, he didn't know how Hiccup would get down. He couldn't walk hardly as it was without his crutch, and Toothless didn't think jumping from the platform was an option.

Apparently, Hiccup didn't feel the same way. He swung his legs over the side, held his crutch in his left hand, and then jumped. He knew Toothless could catch him. He knew he would.

Toothless jumped and met Hiccup in the air so the seventeen-year-old landed on the Night Fury's back with incredible ease.

"Thanks, bud," said Hiccup, dismounting when Toothless touched down again. Toothless growled slightly.

"Ahh, no thanks, buddy, I can walk," said Hiccup. He showed his dragon his crutch, allowing the Night Fury to sniff at it before he nodded in approval. Hiccup grinned before placing the crutch under his left arm and gesturing towards the village.

"Shall we go?" he offered. Toothless nodded, and then followed Hiccup.

On the way, they found Astrid, the twins, Snotlout and Fishlegs walking, their dragons beside them. They looked astonished and relieved as they ran and skidded to a stop in front of Hiccup and his dragon.

"Great to see you back on your feet again!" said Astrid.

"Foot," Snotlout corrected.

Hiccup rolled his eyes.

"Dude, how'd it go?" Tuffnut asked. "Gothi said you got stitches. How many?"

"Eleven," said Hiccup.

"_Eleven_?" Fishlegs repeated. Hiccup nodded. "That's a little crazy, Hiccup," Fishlegs went on. "But it's better than paralysis, right?"

"Oh, by a long shot," said Hiccup. "Stitches, I can handle. But what I _can't _handle is being bedridden, and unable to fly my dragon."

Toothless cooed in agreement, moving up to stand directly behind his master.

"So, how long did Gothi say before you're completely back to normal?" Astrid asked.

"Four weeks tops," said Hiccup. "Not too bad, considering everything that happened."

"Yeah," said Astrid. She snapped suddenly. "Oh, right! Your Dad would want to know you're awake. I'll go get-"

"Hiccup!" they heard a shout from above them. They looked up to see Stoick on Thornado, landing the Thunderdrum. He dismounted and ran over to Hiccup.

"Hey, Dad," said Hiccup.

"Gothi told us it worked," said Stoick.

"Yup," said Hiccup. "I can move it a little bit, and I've got some feeling back in it."

"That's great news, son," said Stoick. "I'm glad you're alright. These past few days have been _crazy_."

"Yep, crazy," said Hiccup. "First the Snaptrapper, then the poison, then the paralysis, and now the stitches...eleven of them. Hopefully, it'll be back to normal before we even know what's happening."

"I wouldn't worry too much about it," said Snotlout. "We'll laugh about this some day."

"Yeah," said Hiccup. "But that day is not this day."

"Well, if you guys are done chattering, we should head to the academy," said Astrid. "If you feel up to it, Hiccup."

"That sounds like the best idea I've heard all day," said Hiccup. "I'm sure Firespit...or Venomous, Charcoal, Overbite and Deathbreath, whichever you want to call him...is worked up. Not getting out for a few days? Worked up is an underestimate."

Stoick laughed. "Don't do anything too strenuous, Hiccup," he said. "Have fun training."

"We will," said Hiccup. "Thanks."

Instead of walking, they decided to take their dragons. Hiccup mounted Stormfly behind Astrid, giving Toothless the follow command. He felt bad not riding the dragon, but he really didn't have too much of a choice. Stoick went his own way, and the dragon riders headed towards the academy.

Upon entering the once kill ring on their dragons, the youths dismounted. Firespit growled from inside his pin, begging to be let out.

"Okay, Firespit," said Hiccup. He nodded to Astrid, who walked over and pulled the lever, releasing the Snaptrapper. Firespit cooed happily and ran circles around the academy. He seemed to like doing that quite often.

Suddenly, though, Firespit stopped moving. All four heads perked up, and then turned their attention to the sky. Then, they all broke out in a violent hiss, growling and snarling.

"What's going on?" Astrid questioned. Hiccup looked to where the Snaptrapper heads were looking, and then gasped.

"Is that..._another Snaptrapper?" _


	38. Chapter 38

**I am sorry in advance for this chapter. You'll see why. Oops, was that out-loud? This is my FIRST update today, and please don't hate me. :) Enjoy chapter 38!**

As if on cue, a horn rung out in the distance. Horrific sounding cries of "DRAGON ATTACK" filled the air. Firespit's four heads each let out a bloodcurdling roar. It wasn't loud enough to have to cover your ears; just loud enough to catch everyone's attention.

"What's going on!?" said Tuffnut.

"A second Snaptrapper..." said Fishlegs, almost in awe, although his voice was laced with utter confusion. "Wait..._a second Snaptrapper_..."

Firespit roared uncontrollably, and then breathed fire - all four heads at once - straight at the door to the academy. The entrance blew to bits, the splintered wood flying in every direction. Then, Firespit spread his wings, and shot into the sky, heading straight towards the second Snaptrapper.

"They're going to collide!" Hiccup shouted.

"A second Snaptrapper..." Fishlegs was still in awe.

"DO SOMETHING, Hiccup!" Snotlout shouted. "You're the big shot dragon trainer!"

"I'm also the one using a crutch!" said Hiccup. "Astrid, I need to borrow Stormfly."

"WHAT!?" Astrid shouted. "You seriously aren't thinking about..._flying up there_, are you!?"

"If I can't break up the fight," said Hiccup, "the Snaptrappers will kill each other."

"Hiccup, this is horrendous!" Astrid shouted.

"Horrendous is my middle name!" said Hiccup. Astrid frowned. "No, seriously, it's my middle name."

"This is no time for jokes!" said Astrid.

"Astrid, I trained Firespit," said Hiccup. "If anyone can get into his mind, I can. You know I'm right."

Astrid tried to protest, and then found herself at a loss of words. Hiccup was right. Man, she hated it when he was right.

"I'm coming with you," said Astrid.

"Fine," said Hiccup. Astrid mounted Stormfly, and then pulled Hiccup up behind her. Then, the two of them took to the sky. Snotlout mounted Hookfang, Fishlegs jumped on Meatlung, and the twins bounced on Barf and Belch before following. Toothless ran after them from below, waiting for the proper moment to plasma blast the second Snaptrapper.

Firespit and the Snaptrapper were too close; there was no way they would have been able to reach them before the two, four-headed dragons collided. Hiccup knew this. He also knew that the minute they hit, it would be war.

"EVERYONE, STAY WHERE YOU ARE!" he shouted. "DON'T GET ANY CLOSER!"

Firespit and the other Snaptrapper collided.

It was instant insanity. Fire everywhere. Hiccup had seen a lot of dragon fights in the past, but this was something entirely different. Each dragon had four heads, and there were two of them, so it was almost as if four dragons were against four dragons.

It was horrific.

And then, the two Snaptrappers went crashing to the ground at Raven Point. The dragon riders steered their own dragons downwards just in time to watch Firespit and the other Snaptrapper crash land in the snow.

The fighting didn't stop. The two dragons stood on their hind legs and attacked each other like there was no tomorrow. Hiccup couldn't help but wonder why Firespit was so mad at the other Snaptrapper, when it hit him.

There was something different about Firespit. He wasn't all that aggressive when Hiccup trained him. But he had bitten Hiccup the first time he had seen him. Unless...unless the Snaptrapper who bit Hiccup _wasn't _Firespit. What if it was this other Snaptrapper?

It made perfect sense. If Firespit had hurt Hiccup before; had seen him as a threat before, it would have been near to impossible to train him. And yet, Hiccup had done so without much of a problem. The other Snaptrapper, however, seemed ready to kill at any given moment.

That would also explain why Firespit had attacked the Snaptrapper. He had smelled Hiccup, and then caught a whiff of the other Snaptrapper, and then learned that the other dragon had hurt Firespit's trainer. It made almost too much sense, now that Hiccup thought about it.

He didn't have time to tell all of that to the others, though. Much too soon, the dragons landed in front of the battling Snaptrappers, intent on keeping their distance. Hiccup slid off Stormfly's back, and then turned to Toothless once the Night Fury caught up.

"What are we going to do!?" Fishlegs cried. "There's...a second Snaptrapper!"

"We've established that, Fishlegs!" said Hiccup.

Firespit lunged at the other Snaptrapper. The other dragons and riders looked on, wishing they could have done something, but knowing all the same that there was nothing they could have done, even if they tried.

"Come on, Firespit!" said Snotlout. "Bring Bossyboots to his knees!"

"Bossyboots?" Tuffnut repeated. "That's weird."

Firespit lunged at Bossyboots, clawing madly, each head going for one of its opponents heads. Bossyboots pushed against Firespit's chest, sending the dragon slamming up against a tree.

"Come on, Firespit!" Hiccup encouraged. "FIRE!"

Firespit followed his trainer's command, each head firing one small blast so they joined before smacking into Bossyboot's stomach. The Snaptrapper recoiled, and then attacked Firespit again. This time, he managed to sink his fangs into Firespit's side.

"NO!" Hiccup shouted. He knew what Snaptrapper venom felt like. And by the looks of it, Bossyboots...or, whatever the Snaptrapper's name was...was just injecting more into Firespit's body. Hiccup couldn't stand watching this. He had trained Firespit: first Snaptrapper known to the Berk Dragon Training Academy. And now watching the dragon get killed right before his eyes was just far too..._wrong_. That's what it was. _Wrong. _Flat out wrong.

"TOOTHLESS, PLASMA BLAST!" Hiccup shouted. The Night Fury didn't disobey. He fired long and hard at Bossyboots, sending the Snaptrapper flying until it smacked against a tree. Then, the Snaptrapper stood up in a daze, roared, and got ready to attack, before Hookfang fired at Bossyboots. Toothless fired a second time. Stormfly followed the example. Meatlung, Barf and Belch did so as well, firing multiple times at the bad Snaptrapper until finally, it moved no more. Dead. They had killed it. Toothless looked at the body of the dragon and roared at it, even though it was far from life.

Hiccup couldn't move for a second. He was terrified at what he had just beheld. Then, remembering Firespit, he ran over as fast as he could with a lame leg and crutch, which was actually a lot faster than one would think.

He collapsed near one of the dragon's many heads. He didn't know what to do. He saw a small bit of green blood drip from the puncture wounds on the dragon's side. He had been injected with more poison than Hiccup had blood in his body. There wasn't any way Firespit would live, even if they had the cure.

Hiccup felt tears prick in his eyes slightly, but he forced them back. Venomous looked at Hiccup, the other heads doing the same. Hiccup smiled, his eyes sad.

"I guess I shouldn't have called you Venomous," said Hiccup. "You didn't bite me."

Venomous didn't look like he cared what his name was. He was dying, after all.

Before Hiccup knew what was happening, the Snaptrapper's eyes all slid shut, and he went still.

"Firespit?" Hiccup said. "Firespit!"

He was gone.


	39. Chapter 39

**Did that last chapter make anyone else feel sad, or was it just me? This is my SECOND update today. And MAN, this story's going to be a lot longer than I had intended. Maybe somewhere closer to fifty chapters than forty. WOW. This is MY LONGEST fanfic yet! :D THANKS! Enhoy chapter 39! **

Hiccup didn't know why he felt so attatched to Firespit. Really, he hadn't done much with the dragon before its death, and yet, he was crying when he realized the Snaptrapper had been killed. Astrid sat beside him, trying to do something, but realizing there was nothing she could do.

It was really too much for Hiccup. First, he had been bit by a Snaptrapper; poisoned; almost killed. Then, after that, he had been poisoned _a second _time by Mildew. Then, after he was cured, he received (most _generously_) partial paralysis. And then, he got eleven stitches in his leg while Gothi fixed his paralysis. And now, Firespit, the dragon Hiccup trained (not to mention first Snaptrapper to ever dwell in the Berk Dragon Training Academy) had died, right before his eyes, with nothing Hiccup could do about it.

Could that day get any _worse? _

Shortly after, they headed back to the village. Hiccup didn't talk to anyone, no matter how many questions they asked him; how many times they pushed him into saying something.

Then, afterwards, they went back to bury Firespit. With the help of their dragons, it took a remarkably short amount of time, but still, it felt like it had taken weeks when it had really taken about an hour.

Hiccup started to get a little bit more feeling in his leg, but he didn't think about it very much. Venomous, Charcoal, Overbite, Deathbreath..._gone_. They were gone. Hiccup would never see them...or, _him_, more like...again.

He still couldn't believe the reason the Snaptrapper had died. He had died while trying to protect Hiccup and his friends. And Hiccup would never be able to thank the Snaptrapper for it. Neither would Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut or Astrid.

Firespit was gone.

Forever.

Hiccup refused every invitation given to him by his friends. They tried everything: a race, some good dragon bad dragon, target practice, search and rescue, dragon pop quizzes, but nothing worked.

While no one was looking, Hiccup left to be alone. He settled for sitting on Thor's Beach by himself, unaware of the Night Fury keeping an eye on him. Toothless watched his master from a distance, knowing the seventeen-year-old dragon rider wanted to be by himself. The dragon wished there was something he could have done, but he knew that there was nothing. Hiccup refused to be comforted by Astrid; he refused to train with the other dragon riders. He just wanted to be by himself.

Hiccup sat there on the beach for hours, his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around them both, wondering why it had to be this way. Why did Firespit have to die? They had hardly learned anything about him. Moreover, he was a living creature. He had thoughts.

Hiccup hardly had spent any time with the Snaptrapper, and now wished that he had. It wasn't like he could have helped it, though. Part of the time he was poisoned, and the other part of the time he was partially paralyzed.

It wasn't fair. It was plain old cruel. That's what it was. C-R-U-E-L. Firespit didn't deserve to die. Bossyboots, did, though. Hiccup just wished he would have told Toothless to plasma blast sooner. Maybe Bossyboots wouldn't have been able to poison Firespit then.

But it was too late for that. Now, there was only time for regret.

Meanwhile, Astrid was looking for Hiccup. He had disappeared shortly after burying Firespit, and she hadn't bothered looking for him. He needed to be alone at that point. He just needed some time to process everything.

But Astrid had been worried when she didn't see him for hours. So now, she looked for him. She looked at his house, at the academy, asked his Father if he had seen him, and then finally found Hiccup on Thor's Beach, sitting by himself.

For a few moments, Astrid just stared at him. She couldn't bring herself to approach him just yet, because she didn't know what she was supposed to say. Hiccup had trained Firespit; it was hard for him to deal with losing the dragon.

It was around sunset when Astrid finally took a deep breath and walked towards him. She hadn't spoken to him or seen him hardly at all that day, and it was beginning to bug her. She walked up to him, and then sat down next to him.

She waited for him to speak first, but he didn't. He hardly even turned his head to acknowledge she was there. She wanted to talk to him, though. She wanted him to say something; anything, really. So, she started the conversation.

"I was looking for you for quite some time," she said. "You could have at least told someone where you were going."

"Then you would have followed me," said Hiccup. Astrid didn't argue. He was right. There was a pause, when Hiccup spoke again.

"Firespit died, Astrid," he went on. "He died to protect _us_. _Us_. Me, in particular. It...it wasn't right. He shouldn't have been killed."

"No," said Astrid. "You're right. No, he shouldn't have. But we can't change what happened. We can only keep going."

"I know that, Astrid," said Hiccup. "I'm not vacuous."

"I know you're not," said Astrid. "You don't have to remind me."

Theys at in awkward silence, each wanting to say something, and each not knowing what they were to say. They sat in complete silence for another hour. Toothless and Stormfly stood behind their riders.

They waited, not speaking, until Astrid finally thought she should say something. She opened her mouth to speak, when Hiccup suddenly stood up, his crutch underneath his left arm, supporting half his weight.

Astrid stood up beside him, looking out into the ocean. And then she saw something that terrified her to no end.

A Berserker ship.

A single Berserker ship, heading straight towards Berk.

"Oh for the love of..." Hiccup mumbled. "Astrid, come on. We have to go tell my Dad."

The two Berkians mounted their dragons, and then headed off. Hiccup's leg had healed enough so he could at least control the tailfin, and he was glad to be back on Toothless, but still, there wasn't much time for them to celebrate.

The Berserker ship hit the beach shortly after Hiccup and Astrid were out of sight. Dagur stepped off and looked around.

"No welcoming committee?" he said. "How rude. Guards, go find the girl. Leave Hiccup to me."

"Sir, yes sir!" the guards said in unison, turning and running off. Dagur unsheathed his axe and ran his finger across it.

"Just you wait and see what I have planned, Hiccup," he said to himself. "It's completely deranged."


	40. Chapter 40

**This chapter's a bit shorter than most of my previous ones, but it's still a decent length. :) I really hope you guys are enjoying this story. I am having a blast writing it, and I really thank freyathefearless for requesting this story. I'm having so much fun. :) This is my THIRD update today, probably not my last, either. You know how my updating is. No designed schedule, just posting when the chapter's are finished, going with the floooooowww...yeah. Anywho and anyhow, enjoy chapter 40! I hope you guys really do; after all, it does have a pretty bad cliffhanger. Well, so do most my chapters, sooooo...nope, nothing new here. XD! Have fun! **

"DAD! THE BERSERKERS ARE HERE!"

Hiccup limped, following Astrid, shouting as soon as he saw his father. Stoick turned around and regarded both of them with a worried and confused look.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"YES!" Hiccup and Astrid both shouted in unison, skidding to a stop in front of their Chief.

"We saw them!" said Hiccup. "They're coming straight for us! And I think I know what they want."

"What?" said Stoick and Astrid in unison.

"Me," said Hiccup. Then, he turned and bolted.

"Wait a minute!" Astrid shouted. "WHAT!?"

Hiccup turned around when Astrid and Stoick raced after him. He couldn't outrun them normally; now with his barely usable leg, it was even harder.

"Dagur wants me," said Hiccup as Astrid and his father stopped in front of him. "If he has me, he'll leave."

"I won't let you give yourself up," said Stoick. He recalled the previous encounter, only with the Outcasts, when Hiccup had given himself up freely. It had terrified Stoick; he didn't know what Alvin was doing to him. And even when Hiccup was unharmed, it still put the father on edge.

"Then what will we do, then?" said Hiccup, mainly to Astrid. She heard a hint of a challenge in his voice; like he was daring her to disagree with him.

"Something else," said Astrid.

"But what else?" said Hiccup. "There's...there's _no way _of knowing _what _Dagur has up his sleeves. For all we know, he could have his entire _armada _on our doorstep. We don't know what he's planned for us. But I do know that if he has me, he'll leave. He'll leave. And it's worth the risk."

"No, it most certainly is _not_," said Stoick.

"Then what do we do?" Hiccup questioned.

"Something else," said Stoick. "I'm gathering the men. Astrid, you tell Gobber to meet me and the others at the Great Hall."

"On it," said Astrid, and ran off.

"Hiccup, you just..."

"Don't do anything crazy, Dad, I know," said Hiccup. Then, he mounted Toothless and headed off to rally up the dragon riders.

Astrid mounted Stormfly and headed off to the forge. She landed her dragon, and then dismounted. She was unaware of the two people watching her, waiting for just the right moment.

"Gobber!" Astrid called as she entered the forge.

"Over here, lass!" Gobber replied, stepping into view. "What's up?"

"Stoick wants you to meet him at the Great Hall, right now," said Astrid. "The Berserkers are coming, and we don't know what they want."

In truth, she knew what Dagur wanted. He wanted Hiccup dead and the Night Fury in his possession. He wanted _all _the Berkians dead, actually, the more Astrid thought about it.

Gobber gave her a quick nod, thanked her, and then raced out of the forge, to the Great Hall. Astrid followed him, until she saw something out of the corner of her eye. It was white, moving as fast as an arrow, heading straight towards Stormfly.

"Stormfly!" Astrid shouted, but she was too late. The whatever-it-was hit Stormfly's side, and instantly, the dragon collapsed. Astrid raced over and inspected the element. It was a dart. Probably nothing too deadly; but who had shot it? Unless...

Before she could finish the thought, something cold and metallic was pressed against her throat. She sucked in a breath, ready to scream, when a hand covered her mouth.

"Struggle, or cry out," said whoever it was holding her, "and I'll kill you."

It didn't take a genius to realize that the being was holding a weapon to Astrid's throat. She was no good to anyone dead, but if she could somehow escape...

"Get a move on," the soldier ordered, pushing her forward, not moving the weapon even slightly. "You're the pawn."

"Pawn? What pawn?" Astrid questioned.

The soldier snickered. "Don't you know what we're here for, missy?" he asked.

She hated being called that, especially by whom she knew was a Berserker. But it wasn't like she could have done anything about it.

"Pfft," said Astrid. "You're here for Hiccup, obviously. But you'll never find him."

"Oh, we don't need to find him," said a voice, coming straight from in front of Astrid. She looked ahead, and saw Dagur the Deranged approaching her. His eyes were wild. He swung a double-bladed axe at his side, much bigger than Astrid's.

Dagur leaned into her face, and spoke three words:

"He'll find _you_."


	41. Chapter 41

**So, here's a chapter to get you all thinking. XD! This is my FORTH update today, and I am REALLY REALLY sorry about not doing any shout-outs. I have one shout-out for one person in particular, though, and it goes to: **

**Wanli8970: YES! MAKE FLARA DO THE THING! OHHHH YYEEEEAAAHH! FFFLLLAAARRRAA! WE ARE ALL ROOTING FOR YYYYOOOOOOU! MAKE DAGUR PAY! :D **

**EVERYONE: YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. I hope you enjoy this. Have some frreeeeee CCCCCCOOOOOFFFFFEEEEEEEE! :D **

"OKAY!" Hiccup shouted as Toothless flew in the academy. As soon as the Night Fury touched down, Hiccup dismounted. "Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, you three need to listen closely."

"Uh-huh," said Tuffnut. "Wait...what is this about?"

"I'm only in if there's popcorn," said Ruffnut.

"GUYS!" Hiccup groaned.

"What is it, Hiccup?" asked Fishlegs.

"The Berserkers are attacking," said Hiccup. "It's me they want, I know that, so I need all of you to do something for me."

"What?" said Snotlout. "What's that?"

"Blow something up!?" Tuffnut shouted.

"Good grief," Hiccup groaned. "Ruffnut, Tuffnut, you two head to Raven Point and scout. Make sure there aren't any Berserkers hiding there. Fishlegs, you need to check around the Great Hall. Snotlout, you check around the spaces in between buildings, overhangs, shadows...everything."

"And what are you going to-" Snotlout started.

"Does it _matter_?" said Hiccup. Really, he didn't want the others to know what he was planning. If they did...they'd never let him. They'd tell either Astrid, or Gobber, or worse. His Dad. "Just go do what I told you to."

He turned, mounted Toothless, and then headed off to the Great Hall. He had to make sure no one knew about his plan.

...

"LET. ME. GO!" Astrid demanded. "JUST YOU WAIT! You're going to be SORRY!"

Instead of replying, the soldier tossed her to the ground in front of Dagur. They had led her to Raven Point, making sure she kept quiet with a dagger to her throat.

"We don't want any trouble with you, Astrid," said Dagur, "but if it comes down to that, I hope you forgive us." He grinned maniacally and yanked her up by her arm. He put her hands behind her back and bound them together, ensuring she didn't try to escape.

"Guards," said Dagur, "make sure she doesn't try anything crafty. And if she does...well...tell me upon my return. I am off to see if I can find Hiccup."

"You really think you can get Hiccup to cooperate?" Astrid challenged, ignoring it when someone aimed their sword at her.

"I don't think," said Dagur. "I _know _I can get Hiccup to cooperate. I have you, remember?"

"What? Me?" said Astrid. "Hiccup doesn't care about what you do to _me_."

"Of course he does," said Dagur. "I've seen the way he watches you in battle. Always checking to make sure you don't get hurt. I've seen the ways he looks at you in danger. He always makes sure you're clear of it. I have Hiccup at his weak spot."

"Oh really?" said Astrid. "And what's that?"

"You," said Dagur. Then, he turned and headed towards the village.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut just barely caught sight of Dagur as he made his way towards the village, walking smoothly as if it weren't even an invasion.

"So...Dagur," said Tuffnut. "He's coming towards the village."

"Sooo...we should _do _something," said Ruffnut.

Tuffnut sighed. "Yes, yes we should," he said. "We'll go get Hiccup and tell him what we found."

"Okay...and then what?" Tuffnut's sister asked.

"Whoa, let's not get ahead of ourselves," said Tuffnut with a half-laugh. "First things first." They turned and headed back to the academy.

Upon heading there, they found Toothless flying in the opposite direction, towards the Great Hall. Hiccup was mounted, staring out at nothing in particular.

"Hiccup!" said Tuffnut. "Wait up!"

Hiccup turned his head and saw Ruffnut and Tuffnut on their Zippleback. He groaned inwardly.

"I thought I told you to scout on Raven Point!" said Hiccup.

"We did!" said Tuffnut.

Hiccup looked at them, almost in disbelief. He couldn't believe they had actually listened to him without him reminding them a few more times along the way.

"Yeah!" Ruffnut shouted in agreement with what her brother had said. "We saw Dagur, see."

Tuffnut nodded. "And he's coming this way!" he shouted.

Hiccup yanked on Toothless' saddlehorn, bringing the dragon to a complete stop. Dagur? Coming _this way_? This certainly wasn't good.

"Was anyone with him?" Hiccup questioned.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut shook their heads in unison.

"Not that we saw," said Tuffnut.

"But he'd be a fool not to bring anyone," said Ruffnut. "I'm sure he did."

This wasn't good. Not good at all. Hiccup looked at the twins, wondering what he should tell them. They were looking at him expectantly; well, of course they were. Hiccup was their leader; the brave one when things were terrifying.

"Okay, you two, go back, keep an eye on Dagur," said Hiccup. "When he gets to the plaza, come to the Great Hall and get me. I'm certain Dagur will go there first. I'm going to warn the other Berkians."

"Gotcha," said Tuffnut.

"Good luck," Hiccup called, and then continued to his destination, the twins going the opposite direction, back towards Raven Point.

Hiccup landed Toothless in front of the Great Hall, dismounted the Night Fury, ran up the steps as fast as he could with his crutch, and then burst through the doors, pushing them open with his free hand.

Lots of Berkian soldiers were standing, Stoick standing in front of them. As soon as Hiccup entered, all eyes were on him. But he ignored it.

"Dagur is coming this way," said Hiccup as calmly as he could. Whispers rang out as the crowd of Berkians chattered amongst each other at what in the world could have been up with Dagur. They knew he was deranged, but really, it was also so much more than that.

Stoick nodded. "Is he alone?" he asked.

Hiccup nodded back. "That's what the twins said," he said. "But I'm certain Dagur has at least a few more men hidden somewhere on this island, or in ships around Berk. We can't just attack him head on without knowing his advantages and disadvantages."

"The boy's got a point," said Gobber. "You don't go barreling into war without knowing the odds."

"Exactly!" Hiccup agreed.

"What are you suggesting, Hiccup?" Stoick asked.

"I am suggesting we wait for Dagur to get here, see if he'll spill the beans on what kind of reinforcements he brought, and then go from there," said Hiccup. "If it turns out that Dagur is alone, the answer will be simple. We'll lock him in prison until a proper sentence can be handed down. And if he's not alone..." His voice trailed off.

"If he's not alone..._what_?" one of the Berkian soldiers asked.

Hiccup sighed. "Then I guess we'll fight."


	42. Chapter 42

**So, sorry it took me so long. I'm sick again, so...yup. No fun at all. This is my FIRST update today, and probably not my last. I don't know, really. Anyways, enjoy chapter 42!**

As if on cue, Ruffnut and Tuffnut burst through the doors unceremoniously, panting heavily. The doors bashed up against the walls by the sheer force of the twins' pushing, but it went unnoticed. The doors swung shut behind them as they raced forward.

"Dagur just entered the plaza!" Ruffnut announced as she and her brother ran up to Hiccup, Stoick and the other Berkians.

"He's coming this way, just like you said he would," said Tuffnut to Hiccup.

Hiccup nodded. "Is he still alone?" he questioned.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut nodded in perfect unison.

"Yeah," said Ruffnut. "I mean, nope. Still alone."

Hiccup nodded.

"That's good," said Stoick. "So, Hiccup, we have approximately ten seconds before Dagur gets here. Any final suggestions."

"One," said Hiccup. "Stay together, form ranks, don't attack Dagur first, wait for him to make the first move. And whatever you do-" he paused, for either a dramatic effect or a breakdown of his train of thought, "-don't die."

As soon as the words left his mouth, they heard snarling and growling of dragons. But they obviously hadn't pounced, because the doors to the Great Hall swung open once more. Dagur stepped in, his double-bladed axe swinging at his side as he examined the hall as one would examine a bag of eels: with disgust.

But what had he done to the dragons? Toothless would _never _let Dagur in the Great Hall. He would die before he did that. So then, what had Dagur done?

Hiccup looked at the lanky man as he walked casually. Dagur's eyes fell on each of the Berkians, until they finally rested on Hiccup. Hiccup glared at the Berserker Chief and drew his dagger, holding it out in front of him in defense.

Dagur either didn't notice, didn't care, or pretended not to do either one. He walked straight up to Hiccup, grinning madly as he looked at the soldiers that stood behind the Berkian heir.

"Not bad," said Dagur. "Not bad at all, Hiccup. Impressive, really. But...not enough." He gazed down at the dragon rider's crutch and grinned. "I take it the poison did numbers on your physical health, didn't it?"

"What do you want, Dagur?" Hiccup hissed.

"What I've always wanted," said Dagur. "You know the drill."

"Oh, of course," said Hiccup. "You try to kill me, you try to take Toothless, you fail both times, and we part as likely enemies."

"Oh, but not this time, Hiccup," said Dagur. "This time, I will win."

"In case you haven't noticed," said Stoick, "we have the advantage in numbers."

"Oh, yes, _that_," said Dagur, his gaze going, once more, to the other Berkian soldiers. "Well, I have an advantage in one of your men. _Women_, more like." He smiled at the shocked expression on Hiccup's face.

"Astrid..." Hiccup started.

Dagur nodded. "Of course!" he said. "I came alone, with two other soldiers, but if you wake a move against me, the soldiers will _kill _Astrid. You know I'm not lying, Hiccup. You know I'm not. So, I ask that you follow me."

"Follow you?" said Hiccup. "Why would I do that?"

"Because Astrid will _die _if you don't," said Dagur. He snickered when Hiccup gasped in either alarm or shock.

"Enough!" said Stoick. "I've heard quite enough. Dagur, if you so much as harm one single Berkian, I will-"

"You will what, Stoick?" said Dagur. "Allow Astrid to die?"

They were silenced instantly.

"If Hiccup would cooperate," said Dagur, "I think we could work something out."

"Work something out?" Hiccup glared. "Dagur, your way of working things out is by killing, death, and destruction."

"I know," said Dagur, examining his battle axe. "Isn't it awesome?"

Hiccup breathed through clenched teeth, just barely resisting the urge to lash out and just do something to Dagur. Not that he could have done anything, though. His crutch and small strength wouldn't do anything against the maniacal Berserker Chief.

"If Hiccup will come willingly," said Dagur, "I will spare Astrid's life. And if Hiccup doesn't..." He smiled at his axe, "then I'll kill her. It's up to you, Hiccup."

Hiccup stared at his enemy. If glares could kill, Dagur would have been dead.

"Man, I bet that doesn't make _Astrid _feel too good," said Dagur.

"I'll go," said Hiccup. "But my Dad goes with me."

"Fine," said Dagur. "And don't try anything funny. You know I won't hesitate in killing Astrid." He turned to the other Berkian soldiers. "The rest of you," he shouted, "stay where you are! If you even try to follow us, I'll make sure it's a mistake you will _never _forget!"

They remained silent, but stepped backwards. Hiccup and Stoick followed Dagur out of the Great Hall, wondering what was going to happen.

Outside, they found Toothless, and the twins' Zippleback; only they were unmoving, their eyes closed.

"Toothless!" Hiccup shouted. "What did you do to my dragon, Dagur!?"

"Nothing that would harm him," said Dagur. "I don't want him dead. I just hit him with a sleeping dart. He should be out for a few days, but he's fine. Don't worry about it, Hiccup."

That only seemed to make Hiccup feel worse.

No other choice, he followed Dagur, his Dad right behind him. Hiccup still had his dagger drawn, even though it was hard to do it with his right hand since he was using his left hand for his crutch, but he refused to sheath it. He didn't know what Dagur was trying to pull; he just knew Dagur was crazy.

He wasn't taking any chances.

Dagur led them into Raven Point, and through the forest. Absently, Hiccup cut small Xs on the trees they passed. If they had to make a quick escape, he figured, why not? Chances were, he wouldn't be with them while they made an escape. He was still holding on to his plan: give himself up to Dagur, let Stoick and Astrid run free.

And then, Hiccup saw Astrid, standing in between two soldiers, a dagger pushed against her throat.

"Astrid!" said Hiccup. "Let her go, Dagur! We're here now! Release her!"

"Aww, you're so cute when you're trying to act all high and mighty, Hiccup," said Dagur. "You know it won't be that easy."

Hiccup absently took a step forward.

"Listen here, Dagur," he said, "you can poison me, hurt me, kill me, even...but Astrid is off limits. You're not allowed to hurt Astrid. No one is."

"Heroic, Hiccup," said Dagur. "But I'm not going to let you be the hero all the time." Before Hiccup could come up with another snappy comeback, Dagur had a crossbow aimed at Astrid, his axe in a throwing positing, aiming at Stoick. "Now, let's play a game," Dagur hissed.

"WHAT!?" Hiccup shouted.

"One or the other, Hiccup!" said Dagur. "You have five seconds, or I'll kill them both!"


	43. Chapter 43

**Sorry for the lack of updates yesterday. This is my FIRST update today, and I hope you enjoy it. Have fun! **

His Father, or his best friend.

That's the choice Dagur had given Hiccup.

Hiccup looked back and forth between Stoick and Astrid. The guards had stepped away from Astrid, but she looked terrified; something Hiccup seldom saw in her. The crossbow was still aiming straight in her direction. Stoick looked ready to die in the place of either dragon rider. But he wouldn't. Not if Hiccup could help it.

"Oh, who will he choose, ladies and gentlemen?" Dagur shouted to his guards. "Five seconds, Hiccup. FIVE!"

"Hiccup!" Astrid shouted. "Go! You guys get out of here! Leave! Run! SCRAM!"

"FOUR!" Dagur continued to count down, taking his sweet time on the whole thing. He loved watching Hiccup battle between two loved ones.

"Hiccup, you and Astrid get out of here," said Stoick.

"WHAT!?" said Hiccup. "No!"

"THREE!" Dagur shouted as loud as possible, as if reminding Hiccup he had a timer, or reminding Hiccup that if he didn't chose, both would die.

Hiccup's mind spun. Astrid, or his Dad. That was the choice. That was the choice. And he had to pick one, or both of them would die.

Unless...

UNLESS...

That was it. Hiccup finally had an idea. It was crazy and reckless, but maybe, just maybe, it would work.

"TWO!" Dagur shouted.

"HEY, DAGUR!" said Hiccup. "You wanna play a game!?"

Dagur hesitated just before he shouted "One".

"Game?" said Dagur. "What _game_?"

"Not a game," said Hiccup. "Shoot me, let Astrid and my Dad go."

"Touching," said Dagur, "but I want something more drastic. Something like..." His face brightened, and he laughed. "Oh, Hiccup, my ex-brother!" Dagur shouted, almost hysterically. "You have just given me a brilliant idea!"

"What?" said Hiccup. He really hated Dagur's ideas.

"You and me, against each other, in a fight to the death," said Dagur. "At the Kill Ring, or..._Dragon Academy_, whatever you want to call it. At dawn tomorrow. If you win, I won't kill anyone on your island, and will leave in peace. And if I win...I get to kill every single Berkian on Berk." Dagur smiled and gestured to Astrid with his crossbow. "Starting with her. I want you to die knowing that you failed your island, Hiccup. I want to see the regret in your face when you realize that it was all...your...fault."

"Dagur," Stoick started angrily, "Hiccup is in no condition to-"

"I'll do it," Hiccup interrupted.

"WHAT!?" Stoick and Astrid shouted in unison.

"Hiccup, don't!" said Astrid. "Let him kill me!" Hiccup was good with a weapon, but Astrid knew he didn't stand a chance against Dagur. Besides, he was also using a _crutch_ at that moment. How did Hiccup think he would do it?

Dagur smiled, and then lowered the crossbow. "Your word is final," he said. "I need your word, Hiccup. Your rock solid word."

"Hiccup, take it back!" Astrid shouted.

"I agree," said Stoick. "Take Astrid and run, Hiccup! Get out of here!"

"You have my word," said Hiccup, ignoring his father and Astrid. "And if I back out at the last second, I will let you kill me instantly."

"Very well," said Dagur. "I hold you accountable, ex-brother." He turned and walked away with his guards. "We will sail out," he said. "But we will wait in your harbor. Remember. Dawn tomorrow, Hiccup. And bring the entire village. I'd love to see them watch you get killed."

"Have it your way," said Hiccup. He finally sheathed his dagger; no use keeping it out. "No interference. Me and you."

"And don't try anything tricky, Hiccup," said Dagur. "Remember, I have two guards here, not to mention an entire armada back on Berserk, just waiting for my command. If you kill me, the guards will go back, get the armada, and then destroy Berk. Nothing funny."

"Nothing funny," said Hiccup. "You have my word. Or you have my life."

"I have your word," Dagur repeated, "or I have your life. Huh. I like that. Well, have fun planning for tomorrow, Hiccup. Bring all the weapons you need! Only rule; you have to keep them all on a weapon board. No hiding anything. Clear?"

"Clear," said Hiccup. "Now get to your ship. See you tomorrow."

"I'll be seeing you then," said Dagur, "for the last time."

He turned curtly and then headed back to their ship, his guards on his heels. As soon as they were gone, Hiccup sank to his knees, thinking about what he had just done. He heard Astrid and Stoick shout his name and race to him, but he ignored them.

Dagur was going to _kill him_.

Not only that, but Dagur was going to _enjoy it_.

"Hiccup!" said Astrid. "Why would you do that!?"

"They were going to kill you, and my Dad," said Hiccup, trying to keep his voice from cracking. Dagur was going to _kill him_. "I couldn't...I couldn't let that happen to you. I couldn't leave you. I will never leave you. I promise." _Now Dagur's gonna kill me, _Hiccup thought to himself. He shoved the thought to the back of his mind. He didn't have time to feel sorry for himself. Dawn was only a few hours away. He didn't have much time.

And then, Astrid had her arms around Hiccup. Hesitating little, Hiccup hugged her back. That was something they both needed: reassurance. Even if it was pointless, and wouldn't help in the near future.

"We should get back to the village," said Stoick. He was inwardly kicking himself for not doing anything to prevent this, but he knew Hiccup was a fighter. He wouldn't let Dagur take him down easily.

Hiccup nodded and stood, Astrid by his side. Hiccup leaned down and picked up his crutch again. Hiccup really wished Dagur had never come. Didn't everyone, though? He didn't have time for wishful thinking. Hopefully, his bad leg wouldn't get in the way of the fight with Dagur at dawn.

The Kill Ring; that's where they were going to fight. And all of Berk was going to be watching, cheering for their heir, watching him die right before their eyes.

This wasn't going to be good.

Not good, _at all_.

Hiccup, Astrid and Stoick headed back to the village. Toothless and Stormfly were still knocked out; so their dragons were down for the count.

Instead of following his Dad to their house, Hiccup walked in the opposite direction. He needed to be alone for a while. Bidding goodnight to Astrid, he left.

What had he done?


	44. Chapter 44

**Hello! This is my SECOND update today, so if you missed the first one, I suggest going back. It's very, very, very very important and crucial to the story. :) Hope you enjoy this chapter! **

Hiccup laid on his back in the grass, staring up into the starry sky. In around six hours, he would fight to the death with Dagur. And if he failed, his entire village would be destroyed; everyone in it, killed.

He sighed. Why did it have to be this way? First the Snaptrapper, then the poison, then more poison, then the paralysis, then the stitches, then the crutch, and now, Hiccup was going to be fighting Dagur for his life, and the lives of his friends and family.

Why did he think he could do it, though? He didn't stand a chance against Dagur. Moreover, he could hardly stand _at all_ The paralysis was still wearing off.

He heard the sounds of wings flapping, getting louder and louder as it approached him. Hiccup sat up and turned in the direction of the noise. He saw Astrid's Terrible Terror heading towards him, a rolled up piece of paper in its claws.

Hiccup held out his arm and allowed the Terror to alight on it. He took the paper from it, unrolled it, and read what presumably Astrid had written:

_Where are you? Can't find you anywhere. -A.H._

Hiccup sighed. At the moment, he wanted to be by himself, but he guessed having some company couldn't hurt. He took out the charcoal pencil he always kept with him, and wrote a reply to Astrid:

_In the field, right before you enter Raven Point. -H.H.H III _

He gave it back to the Terrible Terror, and then waited for a reply. She returned five minutes later with another piece of paper. Hiccup took it gently and read it:

_Oh. Do you want some company, or something? -A.H_

If he would have answered honestly, he would have said "No", but he was sure Astrid was having just a hard enough time as he was. So, he wrote a quick _Sure _and then had the Terrible Terror send it back to its master.

Hiccup returned his gaze to the forest. He couldn't help but wonder if he would beat Dagur, or it Dagur would beat him. Really, it was one way or the other. Both of them weren't going to live, that was certain.

A few minutes later, a pair of footsteps met Hiccup's ears. He turned around half-way and saw Astrid walking towards him. Hiccup returned his attention to the forest as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. Astrid sat next to him, her knees brought to her chest, her arms wrapped around them.

They sat there in silence for ten seconds.

"It's a mess," Astrid finally said.

"Don't say it again, I know," said Hiccup. He sighed. "I can't believe all that's happened to us."

"Us?" Astrid asked, clearly confused. "I'm not the one using a crutch, Hiccup."

Hiccup nodded. "I know," he said flatly. Pause. "I'm angry," he said as if it were just a side note. "I can't believe Dagur would have the guts to attack us."

Astrid nodded. "And look, Hiccup," she said, "what you did back there took bravery."

"I'm not _brave_," said Hiccup. "I'm ignorant. Naive. Whatever you want to call it."

"What makes you think that?" Astrid challenged.

"We all know I don't stand a chance against Dagur," said Hiccup.

"I guess you don't," said Astrid. Hiccup glared at her. "But no matter what, we'll all be rooting for you," she quickly added, seeing his expression. "Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, me, your Dad, the villagers...even _Snotlout!" _

"Snotlout?" Hiccup laughed. "What makes you so sure?"

"I talked to him before coming here," said Astrid. "I told him what you did. He was impressed."

"Well, after the fight, everyone will be _de_pressed," said Hiccup. "And then dead."

"What makes you think you can't beat Dagur in a fight?" said Astrid.

"Astrid, are you serious?" Hiccup said in disbelief. "No _way _I can beat Dagur. In case you've noticed, he's two times my height, probably three times my weight-"

"That's two hundred and seventy pounds," said Astrid.

"_Exactly_," said Hiccup. "Not to mention that his weapon alone weighs more than I do! Plus, he has so much more experience at fighting than I do. Plus he has a bonus." Hiccup gestured to his crutch and metal leg. "He doesn't have either of _these_."

"You have a lot of things he doesn't have, too, you know," said Astrid.

"Yeah," said Hiccup. "Worthlessness, patheticness, strengthlessness-"

"Stop talking," said Astrid angrily. "I meant the good traits. You don't kill without reason."

"I don't kill _at all_, Astrid!" said Hiccup. "That's the problem! Dagur, in just a few more hours, will be laughing, standing over my dead body. Even if I had a chance at beating Dagur, I could never do it! I can't kill him, you know that! I couldn't even kill a Terrible Terror! And if I did, I'd feel really bad about it and give it a funeral! People like that don't win wars, Astrid! Especially fights to the death."

Astrid returned her focus to the forest. Sometimes, Hiccup was so hard to talk to. Most of the time being because he was _right _about nearly _everything_.

"We'll still be rooting for you, even if you do lose," she said, not knowing what else to say by a long shot. "And I have confidence that you won't."

Hiccup sighed and fell backwards onto the grass, his hands behind his head as he gazed straight up at the sky.

"I hope you're right," he said. "I really do. But...it just seems so...so..._hopeless_."

Astrid nodded and took the same position as he. She sighed.

"Do you really think I stand a chance, Astrid?" said Hiccup. "In all honesty. No lies. Do you think I _really, really, really_ stand a chance?"

Astrid had to think about her answer before she gave it to him. She didn't know how to answer that question. If she told him yes, that would be a lie, and if she told him no, that wouldn't help anyone.

Hiccup nodded. "Exactly," he said.

"But I didn't say anything," said Astrid.

"Precisely," said Hiccup. He sighed. "Your silence speaks more than your words. I don't have a chance, you and I both know that."

Astrid didn't respond, because she knew he was right, again.

Hiccup sighed and sat up, Astrid moving to sit beside him.

"I'm going to fail," said Hiccup. "And you know you can't deny it."

"Well, I..." Astrid was at a loss of words. What did Hiccup expect her to say, if anything? Did he want her to agree? Disagree? Remain silent? Change the subject altogether? She didn't know.

"We'll be rooting for you," she decided on saying, even though she had said it quite a bit in the past few minutes. "All of us. All of Berk."

"I know you will," said Hiccup. "But that won't change the outcome of the fight. It's _to the death_, Astrid, and Dagur wants me _dead_. He won't have a problem killing me. He probably won't even hesitate. Me, on the other hand...I can't kill. The only time I ever killed anything was the Red Death, and even then, it wasn't like I had a choice. Dagur, though...I don't know. I just don't know."

They continued to sit in silence, waiting for dawn to come. It came sooner than they would have hoped, though. The first rays of sunlight sparkled over Berk. Any other day, it would have been beautiful.

But this wasn't just any other day.

Hiccup and Astrid stood and headed towards the Kill Ring, their minds filled with dispair.


	45. Chapter 45

**Yup, this is my THIRD update today. I'm having fun with this story. Sorry in advance for all future cliffhangers you know are coming. So, my readers, enjoy! **

Hiccup was glad he got more feeling into his leg.

Really, that was the only thing that got his hopes up, even if it was slightly. He could almost walk perfectly without his crutch, which was good. He wasn't going to be using it during the fight, it would just get in the way.

Toothless and Stormfly were still out. How long did those sleeping darts last? Dagur hadn't said exactly, but it was apparent they weren't meant to wake up for a few more days. Of course they weren't. Dagur was going to kill the Berkians after he killed Hiccup in today's fight, and then probably take Toothless to Berserk as his own riding dragon.

The other Berkians were already at the Kill Ring when Hiccup and Astrid got there. It didn't take long for Hiccup to locate his Dad, Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Fishlegs in the crowd. They all looked terrified, and it was easy to see why.

They didn't know when Dagur was going to get there, but they assumed it would still be a few minutes. So, Stoick and the dragon riders from the academy approached Hiccup.

"You know," said Ruffnut, "you're pretty brave for a hiccup."

"Thanks...I think," said Hiccup.

"No, seriously," said Tuffnut. "What you did took guts. Standing up for your friends and family like that...it was pretty impressive."

"Apparently, Dagur didn't think so," said Hiccup.

"Yeah, well, anyways," said Snotlout, "I'm glad you're my cousin. Even if you_ are _going to die today."

"_Snotlout_," Astrid hissed.

"No, it's fine," said Hiccup. "Really. Thanks, Snotlout."

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" said Fishlegs.

Hiccup sighed. "No," he said. "But if it goes wrong, don't let Dagur take you down without a fight. I promised him I wouldn't do anything tricky; you didn't. So...yeah. If this is goodbye...I'm sorry I let you down."

"You didn't let us down," said Stoick, placing a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "No matter how today ends, we'll all be proud of you."

"Thanks, Dad," said Hiccup.

"Hiccup," said Astrid, "good luck. Don't die. If you die, I will kill you."

"Duly noted," said Hiccup. "Thanks."

"Well!" shouted a voice from behind them. "Are we ready to start the fight?"

"Certainly, Dagur," said Hiccup, turning to face his opponent. "Ready when you are."

"I'm ready _now_," said Dagur. "Start the fight!"

The gate to the Kill Ring swung open. Dagur entered, swinging his axe at his side. Hiccup sucked in a breath, and followed him in, drawing his dagger.

The entrance closed behind them, sealing them in. Dagur and Hiccup stood on either side of the arena, facing each other, their weapons drawn, ready for action.

"I'm ready," Hiccup called.

"I'm ready," Dagur repeated.

A horn was blown, and the two charged.

Dagur was a better fighter, but Hiccup was lighter on his feet. He dodged each and every blow Dagur threw against him, using his dagger for defense only. He grabbed a shield from the side of the Kill Ring and threw it at Dagur. It slammed into him, knocking him over, but other than that, did nothing but make him more angry.

"Come on, Hiccup!" Astrid encouraged. "Show him what you're made of!"

Hiccup had never understood that term, but nonetheless, he didn't question it. He didn't have time to. Dagur was on him again, swinging his axe like a madman. That's exactly what Dagur was. A deranged madman. Nothing more to be said.

Hiccup soon realized that a dagger was nothing against an axe. He tossed it at Dagur, barely grazing the Berserker's arm, and then grabbed a lightweight, Gronckle Iron sword from the weapon board. He turned around and parried with Dagur just in time.

"Come on, Hiccup!" said Dagur. "You're hardly giving me my money's worth!"

Hiccup swung his sword back, meeting Dagur's weapon once more.

"Pathetic!" Dagur said in a singsong voice. "I can't wait to kill you, right in front of your island! Your best friends! That Astrid girl...you've already failed her. You've already failed your friends, family, and everyone in between! You're useless!"

The familiar name stung like an arrow. It hurt more than the poison Dagur had created. It was at that moment that Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third realized that he could, indeed, kill. He wouldn't let his father's people fall into the hands of a deranged maniac whose only goal was to kill and destroy.

He charged in fury, any fear gone. If he failed, everyone he cared about would die. Fishlegs, Snotlout, his Father, Astrid, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and everyone else in the village.

He went for Dagur again, and got a gash on his arm for his trouble. He fell back to the unforgiving floor of the Kill Ring, and then met the eyes of his friends before pulling himself to his feet.

Hiccup had to push back his anger and hatred for that moment. He couldn't beat Dagur by strength. Dagur was too strong; too insane; too _deranged_. But Hiccup knew that he was smarter than the Berserker chief by a long shot.

Hiccup dodged one of Dagur's blows and then picked up another shield, holding it in front of him, his sword in his other hand. Dagur ran forward, swinging his axe. It met Hiccup's shield with a loud, splintering _CRACK_.

Two more blows, and the shield would be two splintered pieces of useless plywood.

Instead of pressing his already small bit of luck, Hiccup yanked the shield back and ran a few feet in the other direction. He mentally yelled at himself, wishing he didn't limp. He still had the problem with his leg.

Dagur thrust with his axe, and Hiccup blocked the blow with his sword. Angered, Dagur thrust again. Hiccup dodged and swung, creating a gash on Dagur's leg, astonishing him, but not stopping him. Dagur swung with his sword, meeting Hiccup's shield. The blow knocked Hiccup to the ground, smashing the shield to pieces.

Hiccup rolled out of the way as Dagur brought his axe down. The Berkians shouted from above, trying to encourage their heir, but it was drowned out by the fight they were watching.

Recollecting his wits, Hiccup just barely managed to swing his sword, knocking Dagur's axe out of his hands. While Dagur scrambled to retrieve his weapon, Hiccup forced himself to his feet and ran in the opposite direction.

He and Dagur stood on opposite sides of the Kill Ring, like they had when the battle first commenced. Only they were both out of breath, Hiccup more so than Dagur.

"You can't run forever!" said Dagur.

"I don't plan to!" said Hiccup.

"That's my cousin!" Snotlout cheered. "Make him regret ever crossing swords with you!"

Dagur charged. Hiccup dodged easily, grabbing yet another shield.

"Again with the shield!" Dagur complained. "Aren't you going to do something different for once!?"

"I could," said Hiccup. "But I'm not going to!"

He swung, managing to catch Dagur off guard while he took to throwing his shield (again) at the deranged Berserker. Dagur, this time, caught the shield and threw it back like a frisbee. A frisbee set to kill.

Hiccup ducked, the shield slamming into the wall behind him and splintering into a thousand pieces of wood. If he hadn't ducked...

"AAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Dagur screamed as he charged again. Hiccup lifted his sword, just barely parrying. The instant their swords met, Dagur struck at a different spot. Their weapons met, and Dagur continued to attack.

"WHY...WON'T...YOU...DIE!?" shouted Dagur between continuous blows. "COME ON! JUST DIE ALREADY!"

"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third!" Astrid shouted. "Listen to him, and I'll kill you!"

"VERY HELPFUL, Astrid!" said Hiccup. "_Very helpful_."

Dagur swung with his axe, this time successfully knocking Hiccup off his feet. In his struggle to regain his footing, Dagur was able to knock him back down with his axe. Hiccup's eyes slid shut, and he stopped moving.

The Berkians gasped. That couldn't have happened. That didn't happen. A minute passed. No change. Another minute passed. Still no change. Dagur nudged Hiccup with his foot, garnering no reaction. No change. No movement. No life.

Dagur grinned.

"I win," the Berserker Chief said.


	46. Chapter 46

**So, yep, sorry about that last chapter. I know, you're probably hating me, but PLEASE DON'T STOP READING THIS STORY it's not over yet! Yeah, I know, I really did something awful..."Please don't chop me!" (quoting Hiccup from "Live and Let Fly"). So, this is my FIRST update today, and this chapter's real depressing, but it's not over yet! There will probably be about fifty or so chapters in this fic, and...I'm sorry about all I've done to poor Hiccup and his friends. :( I guess Astrid and the others couldn't "Help Their Leader." Oops. Maybe I took that too far. Well, _"I Go Where No One Goes_." I've gone above and _Beyond The Clouds_. So sorry. Enjoy this chapter, don't leave me yet! **

"I win!" Dagur shouted in triumph, louder than the first time. "I _always_ win!"

"Hiccup!" Astrid shouted. She couldn't believe what she had just witnessed. She should have done something, even if it was technically against the rules. Before anyone could do anything else, she turned and bolted towards the gate leading into the Kill Ring. She drew her axe and pried it underneath the entryway, sliding underneath it afterwards.

She felt a deja vu of a few years ago, when Hiccup tried training the Monstrous Nightmare. Only this time, Astrid hadn't acted quickly enough.

Dagur grinned as Astrid raced towards the fallen body of her best friend. The deranged Berserker turned to the other Berkians and began addressing them.

"Your heir is dead!" he shouted. "And I'm certain someone told you the terms of the battle. Winner..._take all_."

"Hiccup..." Astrid breathed, flipping him over. "Come on, get up," she said through clenched teeth. "Hiccup! Stop it! Just stop it! It's not funny! Cut it out!"

She felt tears slipping past her eyes without her permission. She was mad. Angry. Utterly angry.

"You said you wouldn't leave me!" she pretty much screamed. "You promised!"

Her anger was easily overwhelmed by sorrow. Why hadn't she done something sooner? Why hadn't she intervened? She could have easily done so, but why hadn't she?

In another instant, Astrid found herself bawling. She tried to stop, but she couldn't. She hugged Hiccup's limp form, trying to keep her tears at bay, failing all the same. She heard footsteps, and at first feared that it was Dagur, and then realized that it wasn't him at all.

Opening her eyes, Astrid saw Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Fishlegs standing in front of her, facing Dagur, their weapons drawn.

"What is this?" said Dagur. "Hiccup promised nothing tricky."

"Hiccup promised, yes, but we promised you _nothing_, Dagur," said Snotlout. "You killed my cousin! Anyone who does that deserves death! Anyone who even so much as _thinks _about doingthat deserves death!"

Dagur grinned. "Fine," he said. Before any other Berkians could step in to help the dragon riders fight Dagur off, he threw his axe straight at the door. It smashed into the lever that opened it, rendering the metal gate unopenable.

"Now," said Dagur, "let's finish this, shall we?"

"Gladly," said Tuffnut. "This is going to be awesome!"

As much as the other Berkians wanted to interfere, they knew that they couldn't. It would just put the others in more danger. Besides, it was the four of them against the one of Dagur. They should have been able to handle it.

Right?

_Right? _

Snotlout led the attack, followed first by Tuffnut, then Ruffnut, and then Fishlegs. Dagur was good, even with all four of them battling him, coming from all different directions. Astrid's second thought was to get up and help them, but her first thought won over.

Stay with Hiccup.

She couldn't bring herself to believe that Hiccup was actually dead, even though the evidence was plain before her eyes. She couldn't give up, even though every single thought in her brain was screaming at her to do so. He couldn't just…_die_. Could he?

It was just a hit on the head with an axe, Astrid thought. He couldn't be taken down by something that mild. But, then again, it really wasn't that mild. It could have done numbers on him, really; concussion, and brain damage, even to the point where the body would just shut down and never boot up again.

Astrid tried not to think negatively, but how was she expected not to? She had just watched her closest friend die. And one of the worst things was, she had done _nothing _to prevent it from happening. She could have done anything; demanded Dagur kill her instead, take Hiccup's place in the battle, _anything_. But what had she done?

_Nothing_.

She felt that it was all her fault. She should have saved him. She should have killed Dagur. She should have stopped Hiccup from agreeing to the fight. She should have…should have…done _something_. But she hadn't, and now Hiccup was the one to have paid for it.

He shouldn't have, though. Astrid would have given anything to save his life. Then why hadn't she? That would always be her biggest what-if.

Around her, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut were battling Dagur, trying to take down the deranged Berserker chief to avenge their friend. Astrid wanted to do the same, but she wouldn't leave Hiccup's side. She couldn't bring herself to do that just yet. She was still holding onto the hope that he wasn't dead, only unconscious, or in some sort of coma.

Snotlout charged at Dagur, easily deflecting one of the Berserker's blows, knocking him off his feet. Dagur recovered his footing easily, just in time to knock Ruffnut away from him as she tried to attack. Tuffnut battled alongside Snotlout, following his every command. Beside them and behind them, Fishlegs and Ruffnut did the same.

Who gave Dagur the right to do something like that to Hiccup? Who did he think he was? Just because he was the crazy, deranged, demented, maniacal Chief of Berserk didn't mean he was allowed to hurt Hiccup. He wasn't allowed to hurt anyone, really, but Hiccup_ especially_. He was completely off-limits. No one was allowed to hurt him, and live.

Fishlegs came up behind Dagur, catching the Berserker off guard completely. While he tried to block Fishlegs' next strike, Snotlout knocked the weapon right out of Dagur's hands. Dagur quickly grabbed another weapon, just barely making it in time to parry with Ruffnut and Tuffnut, both at once. But he was outnumbered.

"YOU…KILLED…MY…COUSIN!" Snotlout shouted angrily, and saying it made it feel more real. He struck with his sword between each word in a rapid session, weapon and mind set to kill. He would make Dagur pay for what he had done. He would make Dagur _pay _if it was the last thing he ever did. He couldn't believe what Dagur had done. He couldn't even begin to register it. Sure, he never really acted like he cared about Hiccup, but deep down, he did.

"NO…ONE…KILLS…MY…COUSIN…AND…LIVES…TO…TELL…THE…TALE!" Snotlout shouted.

Snotlout was so mad, he was certain if someone dumped water over his head, he would have steamed. The other dragon riders were no different, all filled with hatred and anger towards the one who had killed their friend.

Meanwhile, the Berkians were fighting to break down the thick, metal door. They had tried opening it by force, and then given up and decided busting it would be faster, and more effective. Besides, they had to get in there fast. They didn't know how much time the others had before Dagur went completely and utterly…_berserk_.

Astrid was still trying to find some hope that Hiccup was still alive, but the way he laid, limp and unresponsive in her arms, every instinct was telling her the exact opposite. She had failed him. She had failed him horribly. She hadn't even tried. And now he was dead.

At that precise moment, they heard a blood boiling roar. For a few moments afterwards, all was silent. Then, a blast of plasma lit up in the arena, just in front of Dagur, missing all of the other dragon riders by a mile. Dagur was blown off his feet, crashing into the weapon board like a ragdoll. The shot was accurate; too accurate. And the only dragon that made shots that accurate was…

"Toothless!" Astrid shouted.

Toothless fired another shot at the door to the academy, blasting it down as if it were a piece of straw. Dagur got to his feet, only to be blasted away by Toothless once more. Dagur scrambled for a weapon, but was too late. With a final plasma blast, the biggest one he could muster, Toothless fired straight at Dagur, hitting the Berserker straight in the chest.

Dagur was thrown to the other side of the academy, smashing into the wall. He crumpled to the floor, lifeless and breathless, never to torture another Berkian; to hurt another person, dragon, or other living creature. Dagur was dead.

And so was Hiccup.


	47. Chapter 47

**This is my SECOND update today. So, I got this idea for a What-If of HTTYD2, and I hope you all like it. Here's the headcanon: In the beginning of the film, Hiccup and Astrid are talking on the side of the cliff, and then they see the smoke. When they go to investigate, they meet Eret and his trappers, it goes as the movie goes, but THEN, while escaping, one of the Dragon Trappers shoots Hiccup with an arrow. And then he can't fly Toothless, and the dragon crashes into the ocean, Astrid taking Hiccup on Stormfly since he can't fly Toothless. Then Astrid heads off in the opposite direction, hoping Toothless can make it (because she really needs to land, since Hiccup was just shot, and she can't worry about Toothless, especially when the dragon can fend for himself), but before the Trappers get Toothless, Valka's dragons do, and they take him to her sanctuary. Astrid gets lost in a blizzard. After flying for hours, Astrid finds Valka's ice cave on accident. And since Hiccup is half-dead, really, she decides to land and hope she can find some way to help him. And guess who she finds? Ooooooh. :D Do you guys want me to write it? **

Dagur was dead. He would never hurt another Berkian again. He would never be able to kill another living creature; torture another dragon; capture another Hooligan. Then why, instead of feeling happy, Astrid just felt full of despair and regret?

The Berkians raced in, gathering in a circle around her and their fallen heir. Astrid ignored them entirely. If she was completely honest, she could have cared less what the villagers thought. She herself was being far too consumed with her own sorrow and sadness to care about anyone else at that moment. The only person she couldn't stop thinking about was Hiccup, lying dead in her arms.

Dagur. That deranged Dagur. That insanely deranged Dagur. Astrid took a moment to glance over at his dead body before her focus returned to the only thing important to her at that time. He had _killed _Hiccup. _Killed him. _And he had _enjoyed it. _It was sickening; absolutely sickening, to think that someone would enjoy watching others die, them being the only cause of it.

Was that the way Berserkers really were? Were they really that hungry for death, that they would kill the innocent to get what they longed, even if, in the end, it was completely and utterly pointless? Useless? Did they really feel so strongly about causing death and destruction in the lives of other people, who had done nothing to them in the past?

What a horrible way to live. What a completely horrible way to live. It wasn't horrible, it was so awful. It was completely horrendous.

_Horrendous_. Astrid found herself choking on tears again. She just _had _to pick that word to describe the Berkians. Why couldn't she have picked something different? Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third was dead. No matter how hard she tried not to think about it, the more she thought about it.

Astrid could see it in her mind: in a few hours, they would hold his funeral. She would stand at the docks with a flaming arrow, firing it at a pyre. She would probably say something; she didn't know what, exactly, but she would. She would probably say something about Hiccup being the best friend she ever had, and would ever have.

For some reason, she felt drawn to say something at that exact moment. She didn't know why; she just felt like she had to. Everyone was watching; not that she cared one bit about what the others thought or saw. She wasn't embarrassed; she wouldn't be at that point.

"Hiccup was…the best friend I could ever ask for," she said slowly. "He was brave…selfless…everything I always strived to be. He was…heroic, more than that, he was my friend. Best friend. I could…never thank him enough for what he gave me. He…he means…_meant_…so much more than words could say. More than a dictionary could describe. And…I loved him. I just wish I had said that to him before now. Now…when it's too late. I just…wish it could have ended…_differently_."

She couldn't say anything else. Not without having another sobbing fest. She closed her eyes, and then heard another voice speak up.

"Hiccup was the greatest friend I could ever want," said Fishlegs. He was really the first person Astrid had expected to speak after herself. "And no one could ever replace him in a thousand years. He was honest, kind, always thinking about others over himself. He would have given himself in the place of anyone; even someone who hated him. He taught me so much. I just wish I could have given him something in return."

"Hiccup was my boss," said Tuffnut. Wait…_Tuffnut? _"Yeah, he was bossy, but he was my friend. I won't forget him. And even when he yelled at me, it was because I deserved it. When he grounded me, it was because I was being a fool. And, there was this one time, I tried to jump off his roof with an umbrella and tried to see if it would work the same way dragons' wings did…oh, wait, he was on a fishing trip. Uh…never mind. But, he was the greatest leader I could ask for, and no one could ever live to tell me otherwise. So…_there_. There you have it."

"What Tuffnut said," said Ruffnut. "Hiccup would scold us, but really, he was just trying to protect us. Each time he told us not to mess with explosives, and we didn't listen, we always ended up hurting ourselves, or someone else. I wish we would have listened to him in the past…really, I do. I wish I could go back, and change all that I ever did to him. Each time I was horrible to him. And if there's one last thing I would like to say to Hiccup, that is…I'm sorry."

Gustav stepped up.

"Dude, don't be dead," he said. "That would be totally uncool."

Really, he could have said something a little more formal, but okay.

Stoick moved to say something, at first not finding the words. Hiccup..._dead_? He was still having a hard time registering it. How could he? So many times in his life, there had been times when he was sure Hiccup had died. Now, he had expected this time would be just like the last ones: he'd be fine, and they would all laugh about it later. But it wasn't.

"Hiccup...brave lad," said Stoick. "There were so many things I wanted to tell him...say to him...that I just never had the chance to. So many...little things. I wish I could take back all the wrong I ever did to him and put instead love and affection. I'm sorry, Hiccup. I'm not the father you deserved."

Then, something happened that Astrid did not expect by a long shot. Snotlout stepped up.

"Hiccup was...my cousin," said Snotlout. "But more than that, he was...awesome. He was incredible awesome. Smart, intelligent, brilliant, kind, heroic...more than that, too. His whole life, I called him useless, weak, pathetic, worthless, junk...I even told him we'd be better off without him once or twice. And...he forgave me when I didn't even ask for forgiveness. He forgot about it. He didn't ever hold it against me. He...he didn't hold grudges. He didn't hold his anger. He forgave me. He took the blame for everything. He always apologized, even when it wasn't even his fault. He was...different. Different in a good way. In the _best _way. And...if there was one thing I would want to say to him right now...one thing I would want him to know...that would be that...I wish I had apologized before all this. I wish I would have been a better cousin. I treated him like dirt most his life. I treated him like he was an obstacle. He was so much more than just a talking fishbone. He did things no one else dared to. He risked his life, in the battle with the Red Death, for a village that hated him. And...I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Hiccup. You gave me so much, and I shunned you. Thanks for the adventure you made my life."

After that, silence followed. Astrid still couldn't believe Hiccup was dead. But the evidence was clear. Hiccup was..._gone_. Forever. If only Astrid had intervened. Maybe this wouldn't have ever happened. But, obviously, it _had _indeed happened, and there was no changing that.

They all stood in utter silence in the Kill Ring, staring at the fallen body of their heir, Astrid sobbing almost uncontrollably. A few minutes later, most of the villagers left.

They had a pyre to build.


	48. Chapter 48

**So, yup, this is my THIRD update today, and I'm sorry about that last chapter. The fic's not over yet though, so...please don't give up! :D Even though it's hopless, and I'm awful to poor Hiccup and the others...never mind. I am going to write that headcanon I mentioned in the previous A/N about Hiccup getting shot and meets Valka with Astrid earlier on in the film. It should be wonderful. So, yeah. I'll probably start that after I finish this one tonight. Oh, yeah...I AM FINISHING THIS STORY TODAY! YAYAYAYAYYAAAAAYY! Enjoy chapter 48!**

The Berkians left, sometimes one by one, sometimes two by two, sometimes three by three, four by four, and so on. They left in no apparent order, each going to help prepare Hiccup's funeral.

The only people who didn't leave were Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and then Toothless. Toothless was wailing into the wind, tossing his head back in utmost sorrow. The others stared, not knowing what to say; what to think; what to _do_.

Astrid refused to let Hiccup go. He was dead, but she couldn't believe he was. She couldn't...she just _wouldn't_ believe something like that. It was horrible. Far, far, far too horrible.

"Astrid," said Snotlout. "We have to go..."

"No," said Astrid. "We don't."

"Astrid," said Snotlout, almost gently, which was strange for him.

"No!" said Astrid. "Hiccup, you're not dead! I know you're not! Drop the act! Cut it out! Stop being so stubborn! You told me you would never leave me, and you never break your promises...why is this an exception?" Of course, she didn't get a response. Astrid was suddenly mad. She was mad at Hiccup. She was mad at Dagur. She was mad at everyone and everything. "Get...up!" she shouted. "Get up, get up, get up, you crazy weirdo!" She shook Hiccup, and then broke down crying again. He was dead. Why even try?

She was mad at him, actually. She was actually, seriously, genuinely mad at him. Why did he go out and fight Dagur? Why did he get himself killed? Why did he...there were so many whys.

And then, just as she was about to give up, she heard a slight cough. At first, she ignored it. It could have been herself, by the way she was crying. She didn't even know, nor did she care at that point. Why had all this happened? Why? Just why? Hiccup didn't deserve it. No one on Berk deserved it.

And then, she heard a gasp, followed by many others. The people behind her fell silent. Astrid slowly, ever so slowly, opened her eyes, not trusting herself at first. She wasn't going to get her hopes up. She wasn't.

But then, she felt someone lightly touch her cheek. Her eyes shot open, and she gasped. Hiccup's eyes were open, and he was smiling. Did dead people smile? Did dead people brush someone else's tears away? No, they didn't.

Only living people did that.

And that meant that...

"HICCUP!" Astrid, Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Fishlegs shouted in unison. Toothless roared and fired a plasma blast into the air, followed by many others. He bounded around Astrid and his rider, roaring and roaring in happiness.

"What...did I do?" Hiccup asked.

"You weirdo!" Astrid shouted, hugging him so tightly she was afraid she'd crack his ribs. "You completely utter weirdo!"

"Dude, what happened!?" Tuffnut shouted. "You were dead!"

"I have no idea," said Hiccup. "I just heard a bunch of stuff...what did you say about jumping off the roof with an umbrella?"

"Oh boy," said Tuffnut. "You weren't supposed to hear any of that!"

"So you heard it all?" said Snotlout. "Even what I said?"

"Yep," said Hiccup. "We have a lot to talk about later."

"But you...I still don't...you stopped breathing!" said Fishlegs. "Your heart stopped! How is _this-_" he gestured to Hiccup, "even possible?"

"You just gestured to _all of me_," said Hiccup. "And I have no idea. Why? Were you wishing I had died?"

"Of course not!" said Fishlegs. "I was terrified you had! And Snotlout was too! You heard what he said! The entire village did!"

Toothless suddenly barged in, knocking the other riders down in the process. He licked Hiccup, and for the first time in what felt like the entire time Hiccup had known the dragon, Hiccup didn't protest. He was glad Toothless was awake. It meant a lot to him. And apparently, Toothless was glad Hiccup was awake, too.

Astrid helped Hiccup stand up. He had pretty much gotten the full use of his leg back, and didn't see the use bothering with a crutch again.

"Where's everyone else?" said Hiccup.

"Preparing your funeral," said Snotlout. Everyone stared at him. "What? Is that what's _not _happening?"

"My funeral?" Hiccup frowned. "I'm not dead _yet_."

"Let's keep it that way," said Astrid.

"Well, come on!" said Tuffnut. "We should stop that ceremony!"

Hiccup and the others ran. And if Hiccup had a goofy smile on his face the entire time he ran to his own funeral, well...no one had to know that.


	49. Chapter 49

**THIS IS THE FINAL CHAPTER FOR THIS STORY AND I AM KIND OF FREAKING OUT I MEAN THIS IS A BIG DEAL! I've spent nearly TWO WEEKS on this story, and it is BY FAR THE LONGEST STORY ON FANFICTION I HAVE EVER WRITTEN AND I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU I GOT OVER THREE HUNDRED REVIEWS AND I AM FREAKING OUT BECAUSE YOU GUYS BROKE THE REVIEW RECORD! THANKS! ENJOY THE LAST CHAPTER!**

Hiccup had never seen his funeral before.

Of course, no one had expected him to be running up to the people in mourning over the supposed loss of their heir, alive and, well..._not dead_.

It was actually a rather humorous sight to him, if Hiccup was completely honest. If he had died, of course, it wouldn't have been. But he hadn't; now he was watching his family and tribe prepare his funeral, and he was standing right there, staring like a dumbfounded weirdo.

"We should do something about this," said Hiccup. Then, he ran with his friends and shouted, "NOT DEAD!"

"He's not dead!" shouted Astrid.

"Yeah!" Snotlout agreed.

"WHAT!?" the tribe members echoed. Then, it burst into utter chaos. Hiccup was bombarded with questions, and then hugged by his father.

"He's not dead!" Gobber shouted. "Cut the funeral!"

"I thought you were dead!" said Stoick.

"Me?" said Hiccup. "It takes quite a bit more than a deranged Berserker to kill me." He suddenly thought of something he hadn't before. What had become of Dagur? "Dad," said Hiccup, almost tentatively, "what happened to Dagur?"

Hesitation. That was the first thing Hiccup picked up. He knew what had happened to Dagur at that moment. It was quite apparent. He was dead.

"Dagur's dead, Hiccup," said Astrid, not wanting to sugar coat anything. "Toothless killed him after we thought he killed you."

"I...I didn't want him dead," said Hiccup. "You guys know I would have just thrown him in prison...if we got to the point where I won..."

"We did win," said Stoick. "You did, anyways. Dagur didn't deserve life, Hiccup."

"I...I know he didn't," said Hiccup. "But...I just...don't...I wish it could have ended differently. Some other way."

"I know you do," said Stoick. "But it didn't."

"Hey!" shouted a villager. "What are we going to do with the pyre?"

"I think I have an idea," said Hiccup.

...

"Are you sure?" said Astrid.

"Yup," said Hiccup. "A warning."

The Berkians had placed Dagur's body on the pyre, and were just about to send it off to Berserk. Hiccup was making some last minute notes to heed.

He carved with his dagger on a thin piece of rectangular, square wood that was about the size of a normal sheet of paper. On it, he carved:

_Dear Berserkers: _

_This is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, heir of the Hairy Hooligan Tribe, Trainer and Rider of the Night Fury (unholy offspring of lightning and death in case you want to know) writing. Merry tidings I give you, over the body of your fallen Chief. Greetings. _

_Yes, I know you are shocked, but please don't be. I also know saying that won't do anything, but nonetheless, I want you to know that this is all not my fault. Dagur the Deranged was just that: a deranged man whose heart and mind were both set on kill. No other setting; kill. _

_He probably didn't tell you, but ever wonder what happened to your former Chief, Oswald the Agreeable? I'm certain he didn't. The price, should someone know, would have been death on his part. If you still do not know what I speak of, I will tell you: _

_DAGUR KILLED HIS FATHER. DAGUR'S FATHER = OSWALD THE AGREEABLE. OSWALD THE AGREEABLE = YOUR CHIEF. PRICE FOR KILLING YOUR CHIEF = DEATH. _

_As you see, Berserkers, I meant no harm to befall of Dagur, but if Dagur lived to tell the tale, someone would have eventually found out. Dagur would be dead once the first person learned the truth. I am sorry for what me and the whole of Berk have done, but given the choice, we would have picked differently. I really hope you live to understand that. _

_My name is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, as spoken above. I wish not for war; I am a peacemaker. And that is what I wish for; peace. Can we have that? Genuine peace? No treaty to ensure it. No pressure. No annual renewals of vows. Can't we just be friends? Friends don't need a treaty to ensure their partnership; they just are. And true friends always will be. _

_You need not reply. I will know what your choice is when you do not attack us._

_Sincerely as I ride a Night Fury, _

_H.H. _

"They'll think you're crazy," said Astrid.

"I am crazy," Hiccup responded. He attatched the piece of wood to the pyre, and then watched as the Berkians pushed it off. He inhaled, and exhaled deeply. He wasn't worried the Berserkers would attack. No, he wasn't worried at all.

The Berserkers didn't attack again. Hiccup could only guess that they had accepted his offer. Dagur was dead.

Hiccup was _alive_.

_**THE END**_


	50. Chapter 50

**AHA! So you thought that last chapter was the last one? No. :) I had fun writing this chapter. And this chapter's the end for real, I really mean it this time. :) So, I hope you like it, have a great Thanksgiving! And I'm sorry if you guys didn't like that last chapter, with Hiccup being alive and all that. I know I didn't give much of an explanation, except for the fact Hiccup was unconscious temporarily. Enjoy!**

_**CHAPTER 50: NOT THE END YET**_

"Hey, guys, check this out!" said Hiccup to the others one day. He walked into the Great Hall carrying a tray of small cups. He sat down at the table next to Astrid and passed them out.

"What are these?" said Astrid, taking one.

"Something new I've been working on," said Hiccup.

"It's not yaknog, is it?" said Snotlout.

"Far from it," said Hiccup. He shuddered at the memory of that "tasty" beverage (if you could even call it that) Astrid had whipped up for Snoggletog. It wasn't an experience Snotlout or Hiccup wanted repeated. They were the only victims...I mean, _people _who had tasted Astrid's drink. And they regretted ever doing so.

Astrid took a sip of it, first expecting it to taste like burnt bacon, and then nodding when it actually tasted good. "This is actually really great," she said. "What is it?"

By now, everyone else had tried theirs, and were all nodding. Astrid swished some of the liquid around in her cup and took another sip. It was thick, sugary, something...what was it called?

"I don't have a name for it yet," said Hiccup, shrugging. "Your yaknog from before kind of gave me the idea."

"So, how about this is the new version of Yaknog?" said Snotlout. "It's better."

Astrid shot him a look, and then turned back to Hiccup.

"Yeah, but we should change the name," he said.

"Oh, wait, I got it!" said Tuffnut. "Eggnog."

"Eggnog?" Astrid frowned. "It'll never catch on."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," said Hiccup.

They sat in silence, until Astrid finally spoke again.

"I still don't understand," said Astrid.

"What do you mean?" Hiccup replied.

"I thought you were dead," she said. "Dead. In my arms. How were you _not _dead?"

Hiccup shrugged. "You know, I've hit my head harder than that before and lived," he said. "Maybe I had just blacked out, or something, I don't know. He didn't hit me _that _hard. Did you even check to see if I was breathing?"

"Um...Astrid?" said Snotlout.

"I guess I was afraid to," said Astrid.

"Oooooooh," said Tuffnut.

"Stop it," said Astrid. "I was afraid you'd be dead."

"Uh-huh," said Hiccup. "You know what they say."

"What do they say?" said Astrid.

"Curiosity killed the viking," said Hiccup.

"What does that have to do with anything?" said Snotlout. "I have one. What did one wall say to the other wall?"

"This joke is old and well used?" Hiccup guessed lamely with an eye roll.

"No," said Snotlout. "It said, 'I'll meet you at the corner!'"

"Oh, that's nothing," said Astrid. "I've got a better one. What do you call a fly that doesn't have wings?"

"No idea," said Fishlegs.

"A walk!" said Astrid.

"Hardy har har," said Hiccup. "Okay, I've got one. What did the red dragon say to the blue dragon?"

"What?" said Tuffnut.

"'Breathe, darn it, breathe!" Hiccup replied.

The others laughed.

"All in favor or turning this into a joke war!" said Astrid.

"So it's a competition!" said Snotlout.

"Ex_actly_," said Astrid.

"Oooh boy," said Hiccup. "Normally I reject the idea of such antics, but this time, you're on, Astrid. So on. Joke to the _death_."

"I've got one!" said Fishlegs. "Why'd the cookie go to the doctor's?"

"I'm going to regret every second of this," said Hiccup to Astrid.

"Because he felt _crummy_!" said Fishlegs.

"What did the guard saw to his stomach?" said Ruffnut.

"What?" said Snotlout.

"'I've got you under a vest!'" Ruffnut replied. Snotlout lost it. He fell off his chair he was laughing so hard.

"Why did the cookie cry?" said Fishlegs.

"Again with the cookie jokes?" Tuffnut asked. "And why did he cry?"

"Because his mother was a _wafer _so long!" Fishlegs replied.

"I've got one," said Tuffnut. "What did the shoe maker say when a dragon wandered into his shop?"

"What?" said Astrid.

"'Shoe!'" said Tuffnut.

"My turn," said Snotlout. "What's brown and sticky?"

"What?" said Fishlegs and Ruffnut in unison.

"A stick!" Snotlout replied.

"That was weird, and it's my turn," said Hiccup. "What do you call a fish with no eyes?"

"What?" said Astrid.

"A Fsssh," said Hiccup.

Astrid laughed. "MY TURN!" she said. "Did you hear about the dragon who drank a pint of gravy while laughing the whole time?"

"No," said Hiccup. "Did he choke?"

"No," said Astrid. "He was the laughing stock!"

"This..._means war_," said Hiccup. "While riding a dragon, a magician turned into a plaza."

Silence.

"Wait a minute," said Snotlout. "If the magician..._what?" _

Then, they all broke out laughing.

"FINE, it's MY TURN," said Fishlegs. "What do you do with a sick boat?"

"Do I really want to know?" said Astrid.

"Ya take it to the doc!" said Fishlegs.

"I've got one," said Hiccup. "What do you call someone who doesn't remember how they lost their limb?"

"What?" said Astrid.

"Stumped," said Hiccup. He cracked a smile, as did the others once they got the joke.

"Okay, I've got another one!" said Snotlout. "What's the Screaming Death's favorite number?"

"I can see where this is going," said Hiccup. "What's the Screaming Death's favorite number, Snotlout?"

"Ate!" said Snotlout.

"My turn," said Astrid. "What is the ideal name for a man with a rubber toe?"

"I haven't the slightest idea," said Fishlegs.

"Roberto!" said Astrid.

"I have one," said Ruffnut. "What did one helmet say to the the other helmet?"

"What?" said Tuffnut.

"'You stay here, I'll go on a head!'" Ruffnut answered.

"I've got one," said Hiccup. "What's the difference between stupidity, and laziness?"

"I don't know, what?" said Astrid.

"'I don't know' and 'I don't care,'" said Hiccup.

The others laughed.

"Oh, what did the archer say when he dropped his aamo?" said Snotlout.

"I don't know," said Astrid.

"'Aww, shoot!'" said Snotlout.

They all laughed.

"Oh, that reminds me," said Hiccup. "Come on, I want to show you all something."

He stood up, followed by the others. They ran out of the Great Hall and to the forge.

"You know that Mangler thing I was working on?" said Hiccup, running inside, the others remaining outside.

"Yeah," said Astrid, slightly suspiciously. "What about it?"

"Well, I finished it!" Hiccup announced, pushing his new "Mangler" out of the forge. It looked remarkably like the old one, only a better build. "Here we are, "The Mangler B, #91. I wanted to try it out with the rest of you guys."

"Sure!" the others chorused.

"When do we try it out?" asked Astrid.

"How about right now?" said Hiccup. He pulled the trigger, releasing the bola shooter. It set itself up, and then Hiccup grabbed the trigger that fired the mechanism.

"Here goes nothing," said Hiccup. He pulled the trigger, and then watched as a bola fired from it.

"YES!" the others shouted. "It worked!"

"YES!" said Hiccup. "Perfect!"

Astrid grinned, and then smirked. Hiccup turned to her and frowned.

"What are you looking at?" he said.

Astrid put on a confused face as she tried to find the right words for what she was thinking. "I don't know, you just have this..._dramatic flair_," she said.

Hiccup smiled. "Well, I've got no idea where I get it from," he said. "You wanna try to fire it?"

"Me?" said Astrid. Hiccup nodded. "You bet!" She put her hand around the trigger, but just before she fired it, Hiccup stopped her.

"Hang on!" he said. "I have an idea. Wait here." He ran back inside the forge, and then came back out with different colored ribbons. He picked a blue one, and then tied it to Astrid's bola. "Whichever one gets farther," said Hiccup.

"Hey yeah!" said Astrid. "A competition!"

"I usually don't say this," said Hiccup, "but yes, a competition."

Astrid grinned, and then pulled the trigger. The bola sailed over the trees, and then disappeared.

Snotlout whistled.

"Nice," said Hiccup. "Snotlout, you're up." He gave Snotlout a red ribbon, tied it to the bola, and then allowed his cousin to fire it. It didn't go nearly as far as Astrid's, because they saw it hit the ground.

"Buuuurn," said Tuffnut.

"Fine, your turn," said Snotlout, stepping away. Tuffnut got a dark green ribbon tied t his bola. He fired it, yanking the trigger harder than he should have. The bola went about twenty feet before hitting the ground.

"Who's burned now?" said Snotlout.

"Ruffnut, you're up," said Hiccup, changing the subject. Ruffnut got a light green ribbon, and then fired the bola. It sailed, hitting a tree in the middle. Then, Hiccup tied a black ribbon to his bola, and fired it. It went as Astrid's did; they didn't see it hit the ground.

"Well, we'll go out tomorrow and check it out," said Hiccup. "When it's bright."

...

When they checked the next day, Hiccup's bola went the farthest. Of course, Snotlout put up a fight about how Hiccup designed "The Mangler", so Hiccup just decided to drop out to avoid any other problems. Astrid came next, followed by Ruffnut, then Snotlout, and then Tuffnut.

And, of course, the twins went fighting about their bolas.

"I had the light green one!" said Tuffnut. "You got the dark green!"

"You're just saying that!" said Ruffnut. "I obviously got the light green!"

"No you didn't, because you got the dark green!" said Tuffnut.

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did _not_!"

"Did _too!_"

"DID NOT!"

"DID TOO!"

Hiccup approached Astrid, watching the twins yell at each other.

"Well, it's great to have everything back to normal," he said.

And it really was.

_**THE END FOR REAL THIS TIME**_


End file.
